Little Boy Blue
by Eternal Soldier
Summary: When Morgan fails to show up for work one morning, what the team find at his house is most definitely not what they expected. De-aged Morgan.
1. Discovery

_A/N: So, I have read a few de-aged Criminal Minds fics, which I do love by the way. But what I have noticed is that the majority of them are de-aged Reid (because I mean really, who doesn't love a mini version of our favourite boy genius?). So, you know what I decided to do? Write a de-aged Morgan fic, of course! Because I think a little Morgan would be nothing short of adorable and hilarious- hence this fic was born. I really don't need to be starting a new multi-chapter fic, but oh well! I kinda need the comic relief right now..._

_And I am working on Chicago, I am halfway through the chapter now, which is far better than where I was before. But before I start rambling on too much, on with this story!_

_**Summary:** When Morgan fails to show up for work one morning, what the team find at his house is most definitely not what they expected. De-aged Morgan._

* * *

**Little Boy Blue**

* * *

_Discovery_

* * *

The BAU team arrived at the office in the same order nearly every morning. Reid and Hotch were always the first two to arrive- Hotch because he was the Unit Chief and felt it his duty to be there first, and Reid because- well, because he was Reid and he lived the closest to the FBI building in Quantico, anyway. Rossi and Garcia usually showed up next, with JJ coming soon after leaving her young son in her boyfriend's capable hands. Prentiss usually showed up next, with Morgan- last but definitely not least- coming not far behind her. It wasn't unusual for Morgan to be late but, one day, when it had been nearly two hours since he should have arrived and he still hadn't shown up, the team was beginning to worry.

"You'd think Morgan would've called if he wasn't coming into today," Reid said to Prentiss and JJ as they sat in the bullpen. He tried to come off as casual, but his tone and the tension in his expression revealed his worry.

"He could be too sick to call," Prentiss said, trying to calm down both herself and JJ and Reid. "Or he could be at the doctor, and he's going to call us after…"

"No offence, Prentiss, but neither of those instill that much confidence in me about Morgan's wellbeing," Reid admitted.

"No, me neither," Prentiss conceded. "It is like Morgan to be late. It _isn't_ like him to be two hours late without calling in first."

"Maybe Garcia knows where he is," JJ said as the technical analyst in question walked into the bullpen. "Garcia!"

"Morning, my doves!" Garcia called as she walked over to them. "What's up?"

"Have you heard from Morgan?" Reid asked.

"No," Garcia answered, confused. "Should I have?"

"He hasn't come in this morning, and he hasn't called in sick or anything," JJ explained. "We're kinda getting worried."

"I haven't heard from him…" Garcia pulled out her phone, hoping that there would be maybe a message or a missed call from Morgan, but her inbox was empty. "Nope, nothing. Where would he be?"

"We have no idea," said Prentiss. "That's why we were hoping you would know."

"Well I hate to disappoint you- and myself- but I have absolutely no idea where my chocolate god could be," said Garcia. "Maybe we should ask Hotch and Rossi?"

"Good idea," said JJ, and she and Reid rose from their chairs, heading for Hotch's office. "Hotch?" she said when they arrived.

"Can I help you two?" Hotch asked, not looking up from the file he had open in front of him.

"We were actually hoping you'd heard from Morgan," said JJ. "He hasn't shown up for work yet."

"He hasn't?" Hotch repeated, finally looking up. "That's strange… and none of you have heard from him?"

Reid shook his head. "None of us. Not even Garcia." If anyone was likely to know where Morgan was, it would be Garcia. Not only because she probably had some sort of program monitoring Morgan's computer use and thus his life, but also because she was probably the closest to the man out of the whole team.

Hotch brow furrowed. "He never said anything about being late or not coming in today… I'll try calling him, then." Hotch picked up his phone, dialling Morgan's home number. The phone rang several times before Hotch ended the call, sighing. "He's not answering. It just rang out. I'll try his cell." Hotch dialled Morgan's cell phone number, but again he set the phone down with a sigh after a few moments. "No answer there either. It rings so long, it goes to his voicemail."

"This isn't like him," said Reid. "There is no way he wouldn't call if he wasn't going to show up to work. He knows we would worry."

"You're right," said Hotch. He thought for a moment before deciding. "Okay. You two go to his house. I don't want to send a full team in and find out we don't need one, especially when there isn't anything to prove that Morgan's in danger. Go, but _be careful_. And call when you find anything."

"Yes, sir," Reid and JJ chorused, and the two of them left Hotch's office.

"What did Hotch say?" Prentiss asked when they reached the bullpen.

"He told me and JJ to go check out Morgan's place," Reid informed them. "We'll call as _soon_ as we know anything."

"Hey," said JJ softly, putting a hand on Garcia's shoulder. The technical analyst was visibly very worried about her best friend. "He'll be fine, Garcia. He'll be okay."

"Sorry if I don't believe that without proof, Jayje," Garcia sighed. "Just… just go see if my boy's safe, okay?"

"Will do," JJ promised, and the two of them headed out, silently and secretly praying that their teammate was okay.

***************CMxSRxDMxFF***

When Derek Morgan woke up, he felt like his entire world was spinning. His head absolutely _ached_, like he had been hit by a freight train. And for some incredibly strange reason, he just felt like _crying_. _Okay, that is not normal, _he thought to himself. _I have never felt like crying for no apparent reason. Something is not right._

When Morgan finally managed to open his eyes, things felt even more wrong. Everything just looked… bigger. Like he was looking at the world through a giant magnifying glass. _Okay, something is definitely wrong_. _Did I hit my head last night or something? Oh god… what did I even _do _last night_?

Morgan racked his brains, trying to find his memories from the night before. Try as he might, though, he could not remember anything after leaving work that day. Could somebody have done something to him that night?

With a growing sense of dread, Morgan started to push back the covers on his bed. It was quite a struggle, strangely- almost like the covers were far too big for him. When he finally got them off of him, Morgan swung his legs over the side of the bed- and they didn't even touch the ground. He was beginning to really panic, now. Something was definitely wrong.

Morgan had to push himself off his bed, almost jumping to get to the ground safely. As it was, he wobbled a little bit on his feet before he found his balance. And as he stood there, Morgan realised just how big everything looked to him. Almost like his entire bedroom had tripled or almost quadrupled in size overnight. What in the hell was going on?

A shrill ringing pierced the silence, and Morgan realised it was his home phone ringing. _Shit, what time is it? I'm probably late for work! _Morgan made to answer the phone, but he tripped and fell onto his stomach after taking only a few steps.

Tears sprang to Morgan's eyes almost instantly, and he fought hard to keep them back. _Why do I want to cry? I shouldn't want to cry. I have had far, far worse falls before._ Morgan's knee throbbed suddenly, and he couldn't hold the tears back anymore. They fell fast from his eyes, and try as he might, Morgan couldn't make them stop. Eventually he gave up trying and the tears just fell, Morgan sobbing from where he sat on the floor.

As he cried, Morgan's home phone stopped ringing, and only a few moments later his cell phone went off. _Hotch must be trying to call me_, Morgan realised as he continued to cry. _God, the team's going to be worried. But I can't answer the phone… they cannot hear me cry like this_. Morgan wished he knew what on earth was wrong with him that would make everything in his room so much bigger and make him unable to control his crying. He went through all the possibilities, but he couldn't think of anything that would cause this.

Morgan managed to pull himself into a sitting position, his hands curling into fists involuntarily as he continued to cry. He couldn't even remember the last time he had cried like this; it was years and years ago. He scrubbed at his eyes fiercely with his fists, trying unsuccessfully to stop the tears, letting out a wet hiccup as the liquid dripped down his face. He knew that someone on the team would be coming now; he had to stop crying before they got there. If they saw him in tears like this, they would never let him live it down. But still, Morgan hoped they'd come soon. Maybe they would be able to figure out what was wrong with him. And Morgan felt this strange _yearning _to be near them- like he needed their attention and comfort - or a hug. He was sure they would all give good hugs and he honestly couldn't remember the last time he had hugged them properly, which oddly made him incredibly sad.

_Please get here, guys, _Morgan thought to himself, scared by his own thoughts. _Please get here soon_.

***************CMxSRxDMxFF***

"Have you ever been to Morgan's place before?" JJ asked as she drove.

"A few times," Reid answered. "To watch movies after cases, usually with Garcia too. Or to, well, talk about women…"

"Ah." JJ had a small smirk on her face as she watched Reid out of the corner of her eye. "Anyone special in your life?"

"N-no," Reid stammered, flustered. "Not really."

"Ah, so you _like_ someone, then," JJ surmised, grinning when Reid blushed deeply, confirming her suspicion. "Who is it?"

Reid was saved from answering by looking up and seeing the road they were looking for. "That's Morgan's street," he said, and JJ instantly took the turn, pulling up out the front of Morgan's place. Both of them drew their guns as they slowly climbed from the car. "Be careful," Reid cautioned.

"I'll be fine," JJ assured him. "As long as we don't split up. We don't want a repeat of the last time we did that…"

Reid almost shuddered at the thought. He knew exactly what JJ was talking about. "No, no we don't," he agreed. "We definitely don't want that. Stay close to me, then."

The two of them approached the front door. Reid tried to open it, but it was still locked. "I'm hoping that's a good sign," said Reid.

"Please say you have a spare key or something," said JJ.

"No, but I know where Morgan hid his spare," said Reid. "He told me, in case of situations like this." Reid bent down over the garden bed beside the door, reaching down into the well-hidden crevice to pull out a key. He unlocked the door and opened it slowly, pocketing the key and beckoning to JJ with the hand that wasn't holding his gun. "Follow me," he whispered.

The two agents entered the house, moving through it as quietly as they possible could as they checked every room. Finding all of them empty and with no signs of a struggle or that anything had happened, they moved towards the last room: Morgan's bedroom. The door was every-so-slightly ajar, and Reid and JJ could hear something in the room beyond- like somebody sniffling quietly.

"Can you hear that?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, I can," Reid replied. "What is it?"

"It's almost like… like somebody crying. Like they've just been crying," JJ said, sounding surprised. "Let's… let's check it out, shall we?"

JJ pushed the door opened slowly, putting away her gun almost as soon as she caught sight of the room beyond. Reid followed suit as soon as JJ moved inside the room, and he could get a proper view. Morgan was nowhere to be seen. Instead there was a little boy sitting on the floor, about three or four years old. He was almost certainly the source of the sniffing noise, judging by his red puffy eyes and his tear-stained face. The little boy had chocolate-coloured skin and dark brown eyes, and a fuzz of black hair sitting on top of his head. He looked to have fallen over, judging by the bloody graze on his left knee.

The little boy looked up at them with wide eyes, which gleamed with recognition and a slight flash of fear as soon as he saw them and the guns they were brandishing. "R-Reid?" he said in a small, shaky voice, reaching a hand towards the two and almost falling forwards onto his stomach, as it was the only thing holding him upright. "JJ?"

Reid's eyes grew wide as he stared at the little boy, and he took an involuntary step backward. He didn't understand. This wasn't logical in the slightest and he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

JJ, standing next to Reid, was thinking similarly, except she had taken a step towards the little boy on the floor. Her motherly instincts weren't allowing her to leave him alone on the floor when he was clearly upset. They both knew who this was, even though everything they had experienced in life told them this should be impossible. "Oh, my god," she gasped, crouching in front of him and stroking a tear from underneath one eye. "_Morgan_?"

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_A/N: Aww, little Morgan... anyone else really wanna hug him right now? Because I kinda do... And some of you are probably wondering why Reid is one of the main characters in this story- this will be revealed later, don't you worry! :)_

_Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Reviews are, as always very much appreciated, so please send them my way! :)_


	2. To Comfort a Child

_A/N: First of all... wow. When I posted the first chapter of this story, I definitely did not expect the response that I got. Twelve reviews on that one chapter is just awesome! :) It seems a lot of people agree with me when I said that I think there really needs to be a de-aged Morgan fic, huh? :P Normally I wouldn't post a new chapter this early, but I felt that you guys deserve it! So let's see exactly how Morgan's doing, shall we?_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

_**Summary: **__When Morgan fails to show up for work one morning, what the team find at his house is most definitely not what they expected. De-aged Morgan._

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_Chapter Two: To Comfort a Child_

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It wasn't until JJ spoke Morgan's name that Reid's mind fully registered that the little child sitting on the floor in front of him _was_ in fact Derek Morgan, his teammate and best friend. Logic and facts, everything Reid knew and had trusted in his life, was telling him that this wasn't possible. Yet his eyes were telling him that it _had_ happened. Derek Morgan had turned into a child.

Morgan reflexively shrank back as JJ touched his face, turning his face away from her. Reid could scarcely believe this; Derek Morgan was the strongest, toughest, most courageous _man_ he had ever known. And yet here he was, a little boy, shying away from JJ's very gentle touch. "Morgan?" JJ whispered soothingly, trying to draw him and his gaze back to her. "What happened to you?"

"I d-d-don't know," Morgan stammered in that tiny, tiny voice of his. "I just woke up and my head just f-felt _wrong_, and I just felt l-like crying, and then I opened my eyes and everything was b-bigger, and then I g-got out of bed to get the ph-ph-phone but I fell over and h-h-hurt myself, and I just couldn't stop crying… and then you guys were here, and you're so so much _bigger_ than me!" Tears began to gleam in the little boy's eyes, and it was then that Reid and JJ realised Morgan had no idea what had happened to him.

JJ motherly instincts had her wanting to reach out to Morgan, but the profiler part of her told her that this wasn't a good idea. Morgan was confused and instinctually scared, and he still had no idea what exactly was going on. "So you don't know what's happened to you? You haven't looked in a mirror?" JJ asked softly.

Morgan shook his head vigorously. "N-n-no. I couldn't get any further before I f-f-fell." He looked up at JJ and Reid, suddenly even more terrified. "Why? What's happened?"

"I think it's best if you see for yourself, Morgan," Reid said, speaking for the first time since JJ and Reid had seen Morgan.

"D'you think you can walk?" JJ asked. Morgan tried to push himself to his tiny feet, but he couldn't get up. "Here, let me carry you." She reached out her hands to him, but Morgan pulled away from her again.

"No! You can't carry me!" he cried. "No way am I letting you carry me!"

"Do you want me to bring the mirror to you?" Reid suggested. Morgan nodded instantly and Reid headed into his bathroom, bringing back the full-length mirror that rested there. "You might want to… well, prepare yourself for this," he said. "This is really going to be a shock."

Morgan nodded, and Reid placed the mirror in front of him. Morgan's eyes grew wide, and his tiny mouth fell open. He could not believe what he was seeing, and yet the evidence was right in front of him. "I'm- I'm a- I'm a little kid!" he exclaimed. "How-how did this happen to me?" Tears began to fill Morgan's eyes again, and suddenly he was crying, his face red, blotchy and screwed up, his tiny hands in fists, tears running down his cheeks and his tiny body wracked with sobs.

"Oh, Morgan…" JJ reached out to the tiny boy again, intending to comfort him, but he shrunk away until he was leaning against his bed. JJ looked up at Reid, who was looking rather panicked. "He's not going to let me touch him," she said quietly as she went over to Reid, so Morgan couldn't hear her over his sobs. "We never really hugged or touched very often or spent very much time together when he was an adult, so he's not really used to my touch or my presence. And now he's very scared and very confused, because he's a little kid… add all of that together, and there is no way he's going to let me near him while he's crying."

"What are we going to do, then?" Reid asked, still rooted to the spot. He wanted to do something, _anything_, to help Morgan, but he had no idea what.

"I think he'll let you comfort him," JJ said.

"Me?" Reid exclaimed, loud enough to make Morgan start and cry even louder. Reid flinched when this happened; the sound definitely wasn't something he liked to hear, and he felt bad for making the little boy even more upset. "Sorry," he said, more quietly. "But why me? I'm horrible with kids! Don't you remember about the 'Reid Effect'?"

"You're great with Henry," JJ pointed out. "And this is _Morgan_, Reid. You guys spend time together all the time, both at work and outside of work. You're best friends, and you're probably one of the people he trusts the most in this world. And he touches your shoulder or your hair or something all the time. He's the one you go to for comfort; now it just needs to be the other way around."

"Okay," Reid said after a moment's pause. "I'll try. But I can't guarantee this is going to work." Reid slowly moved closer to Morgan, crouching down in front of him. "Morgan? Derek?" he said softly. Morgan resolutely refused to look at him. "Derek, it's just Reid. You're best friend. It's me. Look at me."

Morgan finally looked up, and Reid could see the extreme level of fear and sadness in the little boy's eyes. "R-R-Reid," he managed to choke out. "How did this happen to me?"

"I don't know," Reid admitted. "I don't know, Morgan, but I'm going to find out."

"But what if you c-c-can't? W-what if I'm stuck like this?" Morgan said, his sobs intensifying again.

Morgan looked so small, so sad and so scared, Reid knew that he had to comfort him. He reached out his hands to the little boy, and unlike with JJ, Morgan didn't resist. In fact, he almost fell into Reid's arms, clutching at Reid's shirt and crying into it. After a few moments, and deciding that Morgan wasn't going to pull away, Reid put his arms around the boy and held him close to his chest, stroking his back gently with one hand. Morgan clung to Reid, refusing to let go as he cried himself out. Reid knew that normally, Morgan wouldn't do this. He also realised that Morgan's mind, the part of him that was still an adult, didn't _want_ to do this. But while part of Morgan's mind was still an adult, he now had the mind and body of a child. And because of this, his instincts and his body were telling him that he _needed_ comfort right now. He needed Reid to hold him as he cried. And so Reid held him.

Eventually, Morgan's tears began to subside and he sat still in Reid's arms, letting out small sniffing sounds every now and then. Reid didn't want to move, because he knew that this would startle Morgan out of his arms, and the little boy still needed his comfort. He merely turned his head to look at JJ, who had been watching him.

"We need to call the team," she said softly. "They're going to be wondering where we got to."

"The team?" As if suddenly realising something, Morgan pulled away from Reid's chest, while still in the genius's arms, and looked up at JJ, horrified. "No! They can't see me like this!"

"Morgan, sweetie, they're going to have to know," JJ told him. "Hotch is the one that send Reid and me here. And the whole team was worried about you. We can't lie to them."

"Don't call me sweetie!" Morgan yelled in a voice as loud as he could muster; which was still a lot quieter than his adult voice. "Don't! I don't like it!"

"Okay, Morgan, we won't call you that," Reid assured him. "But we have to tell the team. You do understand that, right?"

Morgan looked like he still wanted to protest, but eventually he nodded his tiny head. "Just the team?"

"Just the team," JJ promised.

"Can… can you tell them not to come here, pwease?" Morgan stumbled over the r sound in the word, unable to form the sound properly. "I don't want them to see me yet."

"Of course," said JJ. "I'm going to go out into the living room, Reid. I don't really think Morgan wans or needs to hear this. I'll be back in a bit." JJ walked out of the bedroom, leaving Morgan and Reid alone.

Both of them were silent for a long while. Morgan still sat in Reid's arms, both wanting and not wanting to move. The part of him that was still an adult knew that this was incredibly embarrassing; he'd just cried himself out in his best friend's arms, for crying out loud! But the rest of Morgan didn't want to move at all. Reid's arms and body were warm and comforting; oh, so comforting. He wanted to stay as close to Reid as he could possibly get. He didn't want Reid to leave him. The feeling was incredibly strange- but what was even more unusual was that- since he was currently in Reid's arms- Morgan _liked_ it.

"Do you think you've finished crying?" Reid asked after a while.

Morgan nodded, but before he could say anything he let out a huge yawn. He felt rather confused; he'd only been out of bed for a few hours, so why would he be tired?

"You need to go to bed," Reid said. "Get some sleep."

"Not tired," Morgan grumbled, but he ruined his own argument by yawning again. He rubbed at his eyes with tiny fists, trying to keep them open.

"You are," Reid said. "You've been crying quite a bit; that makes anyone tired. Especially since you're a very small child. You get tired very quickly. You need to sleep, Morgan."

Morgan wanted to protest further, but now his eyelids were beginning to droop. He was angry about the fact that being so young now made him tire quickly, but sleep sounded so good right now. His nice, warm bed… so comfy…

Before Morgan knew it, Reid had picked him up. He wanted to struggle, or get Reid to put him down, but instead he instinctually snuggled in close to Reid's chest. He didn't want to like Reid holding him, but he did. He really, really did.

When Reid began to lower Morgan into his bed, Morgan involuntarily clutched at Reid's shirt. As embarrassing as the feeling was, Morgan didn't want Reid to put him down.

Having far more strength than Morgan now, it was easy for Reid to pry the small child's hands away. He placed Morgan in the bed, tucking the sheet and the comforter around his little body. Looking down on the child, whose eyes were now very heavy, Reid instinctually brushed some of Morgan's black hair away from his face. "You can sleep, Derek," he whispered. "It'll be okay. It will."

As Morgan's eyelids closed, Reid turned to leave, but he felt something tugging at his shirt. He turned around to find Morgan gripping his shirt tightly, his eyes pleading. "Don't leave me," Morgan begged, before he could stop himself.

"Okay," Reid said, pulling the chair in the corner of the room closer to Morgan's bed and sitting down it it. "I won't leave you. I promise. Now close those eyes and go to sleep."

Reassured now, Morgan finally closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the bed. Within only a few minutes, Morgan's breathing evened out, and Reid could tell he had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful now, almost… content, even though Reid knew he was far from it.

Morgan's tiny body looked almost swallowed by his bed. _I don't know how this happened to you, Morgan, but I will find a way to fix it. I will get you back to normal_, Reid promised silently. But even as he thought this, Reid wondered if it really was possible. He couldn't help but wonder if Morgan would be stuck like this, forever.

***************CMxSRxDMxFF***

As Reid was holding Morgan and then putting him to bed, JJ was in the living room, pulling out her phone and calling Hotch.

"_Agent Hotchner_," Hotch said when he picked up.

"Hotch, it's me, JJ," JJ said. "We're at Morgan's."

"_What did you find?_" Hotch asked, his tone suddenly urgent. "_Is Morgan there?_"

"Oh yeah, he's here," said JJ, and then she paused. She had absolutely no idea how to tell Hotch what had happened to Morgan. She had no idea how to tell him that one of his agents had been turned into a very young child. "He's… well, he hasn't been attacked or kidnapped."

"_JJ? What's happened to him? Is he hurt, sick_?"

"Ah, well… Hotch, I really don't know how to put this without you thinking I'm crazy. I mean, it completely defies logic. If Reid wasn't so worried about Morgan, I'm pretty sure his head would've exploded."

"_JJ, just tell me_," Hotch insisted.

"Hotch he's, well… somehow, he's turned into a small child," JJ finally told him.

There was silence on Hotch's end of the line; JJ wondered whether he was trying to think of all the reasons why she would be wrong. Either that or he'd gone into shock, rather like Reid had done. Eventually Hotch said, "_Are you absolutely sure_?"

"Positive, Hotch," said JJ. "The child we found sitting in Morgan's bedroom is definitely him. For one thing, he responded to his own name. And he knew _exactly_ who Reid and I were. He was also very resistant to being treated like a child. It's definitely him, Hotch."

"_Where's Morgan right now_?" Hotch asked.

"He's, uh, well, he's in his bedroom, crying his eyes out," JJ said. "He knew something had happened to him when we got here, but he didn't know exactly what, so we showed him his reflection, and, well, he didn't take it very well. Reid's with him right now."

"_Reid_?" Hotch repeated, sounding surprised. JJ didn't blame him; Reid had never been very good around kids.

"He may just be a little kid, but he's still Morgan. He wouldn't let me touch him, because when he was an adult I didn't spend time with him very often or hug him or anything like that. But Reid… Reid's his best friend. He's used to being around Reid and touching Reid. Even as a child, he just instinctually is comforted from being near to Reid, because he's so used to him," JJ explained. "And because Reid is gentle and quiet and comforting and restrained, and that's exactly what Morgan needs right now. He doesn't need anyone completely fussing over him."

"_I'm coming over there_," Hotch decided.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," said JJ.

"_Why not_?"

"Morgan asked me to tell you not to come here, yet," JJ replied. "He's not readt for you to see him. You or anyone else on the team coming here would probably just freak him out right now, Hotch."

JJ heard Hotch sigh on the other end of the phone. "_I'm going to have to tell them, though_," he said.

"Of course. I know that, and Morgan knows too. Are you… are you going to tell anyone else?"

"_No. Nobody else needs to know about this. We need to keep this within the team, otherwise it could be a complete disaster. And I'm almost certain that Morgan wouldn't want anybody else to know what's happened._"

"No. No, he wouldn't," JJ agreed, sighing. "God, how are we going to figure out how this happened to him? More importantly, how are we going to figure out how to change him back?"

"_I don't know,_" Hotch admitted. "_I'm going to have a meeting with the team, and we'll figure out where to go from here. You and Reid stay with Morgan. He may only let Reid comfort him, but you're the one who knows how to look after a very young child_."

"Okay, Hotch. Call me when you've talked to the team." JJ hung up the phone, walking back into the bedroom where Morgan and Reid were. Her eyes immediately sought out Morgan, finding him lying in his bed surrounded by his comforter, sound asleep. His chest was rising and falling slowly, and his tiny thumb was in his mouth.

"He's going to be embarrassed when he wakes up and realises he's doing that," JJ commented, alerting Reid to her presence.

Reid slowly looked away from Morgan and up at JJ. "Probably," said Reid. "But for now, he's calm and he's sleeping. And I don't want to move him."

"He does look peaceful," JJ agreed. "How long has he been asleep for?"

"Maybe about twenty minutes," Reid replied. "I don't know. I just held him for a while. It seemed to really comfort him."

"Of course it did," said JJ, as if it was obvious. "Reid, he trusts you, then and now. Probably more than anyone else. Whenever either of you has a problem, you turn to each other. If anyone's going to be able to comfort Morgan, it's you."

"I guess…" said Reid, still not sounding convinced. "What do we do when he wakes up?"

"I don't know," JJ admitted. "If he's anything like Henry, he's going to be grumpy. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Spence." JJ put her hand on Reid's shoulder and both of them watched the young boy sleep, wondering how on earth the rest of the team would react when they found out what had happened to Morgan.

* * *

_A/N: Aww, poor Morgan :( I didn't know something could be so cute and so sad at the same time, but apparently it can. I hope you enjoyed the second chapter just as much as the first one! Again, reviews would be greatly welcomed and appreciated :) Thanks for reading!_


	3. Taking Care of Needs

_A/N: I know it's been several days since I posted the last chapter, but I was working all weekend and I have two essays due on Monday, so it's been kinda crazy for me! But here's the new chapter- so enjoy! :)_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

* * *

_Chapter Three: Taking Care of Needs_

* * *

After Hotch got off the phone with JJ he stared at it for a long while, scarcely able to believe what she had told him. One of his most experienced and skilled agents had somehow been turned into a small child, one even younger than Jack… it was something that just shouldn't be possible. And yet it was. It had happened.

Hotch was a very logical man- not as logical as Reid, and still in part ruled by his emotions, but more logical than most other people. He was pretty sure that if he had been the one who had discovered Morgan, he would've reacted the same way Reid had done: in complete and utter shock. He certainly wouldn't have been unsurprised at the discovery.

Looking out onto the bullpen, Hotch saw Prentiss and Garcia at Prentiss's desk. As he watched Rossi joined them, their heads bent in a secret conversation. Hotch just knew they were talking about Morgan, wondering where on earth he was. How would they react, when he told them what had happened to their teammate and friend? Hotch knew he had to tell them, but he honestly had no idea how to do so.

Rising from behind his desk, Hotch left his office, stopping on the runway overlooking the bullpen. As if sensing his presence, the three members of the BAU looked up at him. Garcia opened her mouth to speak, but Prentiss reached out with a hand to silence her after seeing the look on her boss' face. "BAU team, can you meet me in the conference room, please?" Hotch called out, turning to head into the room before he got a response.

The rest of the team walked into the room almost instantly; Rossi, coming last, closing the door behind him. "Is this about Morgan?" Garcia asked instantly. "Did JJ and Reid find him? Is he okay?"

"They found him," said Hotch. "You guys should probably sit down."

"Why?" said Garcia. "Is he hurt? Did somebody attack him? Did someone kidnap him?"

"No," said Hotch. "Nothing like that. Please, sit down Garcia."

As the three of them took their seats, Prentiss asked, "If he hasn't been hurt or taken, than what's happened to him? Obviously something has, or you wouldn't have called us in here to tell us."

"You're right, Prentiss," said Hotch. "But the three of you need to promise that whatever I tell you, doesn't leave this room or this team. This is essential right now."

"Of course, Hotch," Rossi promised instantly. He may have been the oldest and the most cynical out of the team, but he knew that Hotch wouldn't ask this of them if it wasn't highly important. "But is Morgan safe? Is he okay?"

"He's safe, but I wouldn't say he's okay," Hotch said. "Not from what JJ has told me, anyway." Hotch took a deep breath. "JJ and Reid found Morgan on the floor of his bedroom. He's been turned into a very young child."

"I think that's the first joke I've ever heard Hotch tell," Garcia said in disbelief. "But his timing kinda sucks."

"Come on Hotch," Prentiss snapped, her anger amplified by the shock she was feeling, "it isn't funny to play with our emotions! Is Morgan okay?"

Hotch watched in shock as two of his agents insulted him when he was being deathly serious. Seeing his grave expression Garcia's next words died in her mouth and she signalled for Prentiss to be quiet as well. Hotch sighed and launched into an explanation of what had happened that morning. The team hadn't taken in exactly what he had said last time, too shocked by the news that Morgan was a child and the belief that Hotch was somehow playing a joke on them (because something like this should just not be possible) so the explanation, though mostly repeated information, was absorbed by the team and they began to mull it over.

"So," Rossi began, pausing as he thought of how to phrase his question, "you're certain?"

Hotch looked at him and nodded seriously, "I could ask Reid for proof if you would like."

Prentiss, Rossi and Garcia all gaped at Hotch, unable to believe what they had just heard and the truth of the situation finally starting to sink in. Despite their original reactions, a part of them knew that Hotch wasn't the type of person to joke about something like this.

"This actually happened?" Prentiss gasped, staring at her unit chief. "You cannot be serious."

"I think we've already established that he is," Garcia said softly. She wasn't quite certain she understood what was going on but she was trying her hardest to work it all out.

"Something like that just shouldn't be possible," Rossi agreed.

"It shouldn't be, but it is," said Hotch. "It's happened and Reid wouldn't make this sort of thing up." He had deliberately mentioned that Reid was one of the ones who had confirmed Morgan's identity. Although JJ was highly unlikely to make something this serious up, Reid definitely wouldn't, especially when Morgan was involved. The two were close friends and Reid considered the ones he had to be very special. He wasn't going to risk that friendship for a joke.

"No, I suppose you're right about that," Rossi relented. "Especially Reid. He would never say that something like this had happened unless he saw it with his own two eyes." Hotch nodded as he spoke, glad that Rossi could see what he saw, though for a different reason.

Prentiss still looked a little sceptical, but at the same time it was obvious that she was coming around, and did in fact believe Hotch's words. Garcia, on the other hand, looked like she was in shock. Morgan was her best friend, her protector- her 'boo', as Kevin had once put it. So how could this have happened to him?

"Where… where is Morgan now?" she finally stammered out.

"He's at his house, sleeping," Hotch answered. "Reid's been watching him."

"Reid?" Prentiss repeated, confused. "I would've thought JJ would be watching him, considering she has Henry and knows how to act around a child. And Reid, no offence to him, is usually… well, hopeless around children."

"That's what I thought too," Hotch admitted. "But JJ said that Morgan wouldn't let her anywhere near him. But when Reid tried… Morgan let Reid comfort him. He let Reid hold him while he cried."

"Morgan was crying?" Garcia said.

"He is a very young child, Garcia," Hotch reminded her. "His adult self is still in there, but his body is ruled by a child's instincts and mind. And those instincts told him to cry."

"I want to go see him," Garcia declared, rising from her seat.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Garcia," Hotch warned.

"Why not?" said Garcia, her voice rising. "It's Derek, Hotch! I have to see him! Surely you can understand that!"

"I can, Garcia, but Morgan asked JJ to tell us that he doesn't want to see anyone," Hotch said. "He's not ready for us to see him yet.

Deflated and stunned, all Garcia could do was stare at Hotch. "Including me?"

"Especially you, Garcia. Because of how close you two are, it's going to be even harder for him to be seen by you in his current state," Hotch explained. "Can you understand that?"

"I- I… yeah," Garcia said in a small voice. "Doesn't mean I want to see my beautiful boy any less."

Prentiss reached out and took Garcia's hand in her own, squeezing it in comfort. "We know, Garcia," she said gently. "We all want to see him, badly. For now, let's just trust that JJ and Reid know how to look after him."

***************CMxSRxDMxFF***

Back at Morgan's house, JJ had just made her and Reid coffee. She handed a cup to the genius, who took it gratefully. "I thought you could use this," she said with a small smile.

"You're right. Thanks," said Reid. He took a long sip, before his gaze drifted back to the still-sleeping Morgan. "He's going to wake up soon," he commented.

"Probably," said JJ. "He has been asleep for a while. If it was Henry, he would already be awake, but I suppose every child is different."

"He's still going to be so scared and so confused," Reid sighed, watching his best friend with a sad expression. The little boy still had his thumb in his mouth as he slept and looked like the perfect picture of childhood innocence. It would be cute, if not for the tragic circumstances that surrounded it. "What are we going to do about that?"

"I don't know, Spencer," JJ admitted. "For now, we do whatever we can to comfort Morgan and make sure he's calm. Once we've done that… well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Both agents were silent for a long time, just watching Morgan sleep. Finally Reid said, "Has Hotch told the others yet?"

JJ nodded. "Yeah. They were- well, they were shocked, to say the the least." JJ hesitated before continuing. "Garcia didn't react very well."

"Of course she didn't," Reid sighed, as if he had only just remembered. "Morgan means the world to her; it's not surprising that she reacted badly."

"She wanted to come see Morgan," JJ added.

"She did? What did Hotch say to her?"

"He told her that Morgan didn't want to see anybody else just yet," JJ replied. "Especially her." Reid winced slightly- even he could see that that statement would hurt the usually bubbly woman. "Oh," JJ exclaimed, "he didn't word it like that. He explained that her closeness to Morgan is going to make it harder on Morgan for her to see him like this. And because Garcia's so emotional, she'd react strongly and it would set Morgan off. Though, I don't think he said that last part to her. It would probably make things worse."

"What are we going to do then, when it gets to the stage that the team needs to see him?" Reid asked. Before JJ could answer, though, Morgan began to stir.

The small boy moved under his covers, stretching and showing every sign of waking up, which made Reid freeze in his seat. As Morgan stretched he removed his thumb from his mouth and then his eyes flickered open, darting around before focusing on Reid.

"Hey," said Reid, softly and uncertainly. "How are… how are you feeling?"

"O-okay," Morgan replied, yawning a little. "Hungwy." He winced a little as he failed to produce the r sound once again, but luckily JJ and Reid seemed not to notice.

"I'll get you some toast and some banana, too," JJ suggested.

"Can I have bacon?" Morgan asked hopefully.

"Nuh uh, nice try, mister," said JJ. "Your body won't be able to handle it, I'm afraid." JJ turned and left the room, leaving Morgan and Reid alone. Morgan suddenly pushed back his covers, sitting up in his bed.

"What's wrong?" said Reid, concerned.

"Need bathroom," Morgan muttered frantically.

"Oh, of course," said Reid. "You need help getting out of bed?"

"I can do it!" Morgan insisted, almost angrily. Reid hated to admit it to himself, given the situation Morgan was in, but the little boy's attempt at anger was undeniably adorable. Definitely a word Reid never thought he'd apply to his best friend.

Morgan struggled to the edge of the bed. After a long moment's hesitation, he rolled onto his stomach and slid off the bed slowly, until he was on his feet. He then pretty much ran to his bathroom, but only a moment later a small, shaky voice called out, "Reid?"

Reid walked to the bathroom door, stopping when he saw Morgan standing in front of the toilet. "What's wrong?" Reid asked cautiously.

"I, uh… I can't reach the seat," Morgan muttered ashamedly.

Of course. Reid could almost hit himself for forgetting. Because Morgan was so small now, it would be nearly impossible for him to get onto the toilet seat without help. "Do you want me to lift you?" Reid suggested.

"No! No way!" Morgan protested, shaking his head resolutely.

Reid thought for a moment. "Wait here," he said, leaving the bathroom and searching through Morgan's wardrobe. Eventually finding what he was looking for he brought it back to Morgan in the bathroom, the little boy shifting from foot to foot in desperation.

Reid placed the box he was holding in front of the toilet. "Stand on this," he suggested. "You should be able to reach now."

Morgan scrambled onto the box, and was now just high up enough to reach the toilet seat. He turned around to look at Reid. "You can go now," he said.

"I think I should stay here," said Reid.

"You are not watching me go toilet!" Morgan cried. Once again, Reid was struck by the thought that Morgan looked very, very cute when he was angry and the way he lost control of his speech patterns was almost endearing.

"I won't look," Reid promised. "I'll stand in the doorway and turn my back, okay? I'll just… stay here unless you need me."

Reid could tell that Morgan wanted to protest again, but eventually his need to pee won out. "Fine," he said. "Turn awound."

Reid did as Morgan bid, trying not to listen as the young boy used the toilet. He heard the toilet flush, and eventually Morgan said, "I'm done."

Reid turned back around to find Morgan standing there watching him, looking rather unsure. "You still hungry?" Reid asked.

Morgan nodded frantically. "My stomach's making noises," he admitted.

"Come on then. Let's see if JJ's got your food ready." Reid walked towards Morgan's door, but stopped when he felt a tiny hand tugging on his own. He looked down to see Morgan's hand tightly gripping two of his fingers. Reid felt very confused; this definitely was not something the adult Morgan would do. Obviously in that moment, the child part of Morgan's mind won out, and he needed the comfort and security of Reid's hand holding his own.

Not saying a word so as not to make Morgan feel embarrassed, Reid enveloped the boy's tiny hand in his own and led him into the kitchen.

Morgan himself had no idea why he'd reached for Reid's hand. All he knew was, in that moment, he'd felt this instinct, this yearning, to perform that action. He'd so desperately needed the security in knowing that Reid was right there next to him, that he wasn't going anywhere- that he would protect him. A need that would be completely irrational when Morgan was an adult, but now that he'd become a child, it was completely normal. And that scared the hell out of him.

JJ looked up as Reid and Morgan entered the kitchen. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Reid holding Morgan's hand, but she wisely chose not to say anything. "Your food's ready, Derek," she said brightly, her voice projecting a feeling of calmness and happiness that she didn't actually feel, but she hoped would rub off on Morgan.

Morgan's plate of food sat on the dining room table, but it didn't take long for Reid to realise they had the same problem here that they had had in the bathroom; Morgan wouldn't be able to climb onto the seat himself. "Let me lift you up, Morgan," Reid said.

The young boy shook his head vigorously and crossed his arms, removing his hand from Reid in the process. "Derek, you cannot climb onto that chair on your own," Reid insisted. "Please, just let me help you; it'll make this easier. And besides, I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself on my watch. Garcia would kill me."

Whether it was because of Reid's insistence or the mention of Garcia, Reid didn't know, but Morgan uncrossed his arms and gave a small nod. "Okay," he said, even though the look on his face was one of embarrassment.

Reid crouched down until he was on Morgan's level. "Trust me," he whispered in Morgan's ear, so that JJ couldn't hear him. "I know you don't like being treated like this. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to."

Reid put his hands under Morgan's arms, and lifted the small boy to his chest. As soon as Reid picked him up, Morgan remembered being picked up by Reid right before he'd gone to sleep, and as such he instinctually snuggled into his best friend's chest again. Reid was so warm… Morgan couldn't remember anything feeling like this before. He never knew that being held by someone could feel so good.

Before Morgan knew it, he was out of Reid's arms and settled into the chair at his dining table. Sitting on the small plate in front of him were triangles of toast with the crusts cut off, and some slices of banana.

"Why did you cut it up?" Morgan asked, looking up at JJ.

"Because you can't cut it up yourself," JJ replied simply. "And because you can only take very small mouthfuls at a time. "It's nothing to demean you, Derek," JJ added quickly. "It's just much easier this way."

Morgan still wanted to argue, but suddenly his stomach gave a loud grumble. Deciding the issue wasn't worth it, Morgan picked up one of the pieces of toast and began eating. Normally Morgan would be able to fit the entire triangle of toast into his mouth at once, but now he could only take tiny bites. And when Morgan had finished eating- a task that took him over half an hour, because he just couldn't eat as fast as he used to- he was full. He'd only eaten one slice of toast and one banana, a meal which once upon a time would've barely satisfied his hunger- but that was when he'd been an adult. Now that he was a very small child, Morgan's appetite was small as well.

Morgan looked up from his now empty plate to see JJ beaming at him, and Reid watching him with a cautious smile. "Are you full?" JJ asked.

Morgan nodded. "Yep. Couldn't eat any more." He absolutely hated the childlike, singsong voice that came out of his mouth, but he just couldn't help it. That was just the way a child sounded. He didn't say anything else, though; he didn't want to hear his own voice again.

"What do we do now?" Reid asked. "We don't have anything here to look after a child."

JJ thought for a moment, and then her face lit up. "I have the perfect idea," she said with a smile

* * *

_A/N: It's a good thing little Morgan is adorable- he stops me from stressing out over my assignments. You've gotta feel sorry for him, though- he really, really doesn't want to be treated like a child, even though that's what he is now. But before I start rambling, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are, as always, very much appreciated! :)_


	4. For A Child's Enjoyment

_A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little bit longer than usual, guys! I had two assignments due at the start of the week, and both were worth a major chunk of my grade, so I had to devote most of my spare time (of which I have very little anyway) to writing those. And technology kinda hate my beta, so it took her a while just to be able to beta this... but anyways, here it is finally! And as a reward for your patience, it's even longer than normal! :)_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

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_Chapter Four: For A Child's Enjoyment_

* * *

Morgan looked up at JJ with mixed feelings of fear and excitement. He was a little kid, therefore whatever JJ had planned for him would have to be appropriate for a child of his age and Morgan did _not_ want to be treated like a child. A large part of his mind was still adult. Being treated like this was just humiliating.

But on the other hand, Morgan was also excited about whatever JJ had planned. She was a mother, with a son the same age that Morgan had become. She would know how to make sure he was enjoying himself. And no matter how much of Morgan was still an adult, he _had_ been turned into a child. While the child's part of his mind was small, it was unbelievably strong. All Morgan wanted right then and there was to have fun, despite how uneasy and scared he felt about his situation.

"What did you have planned?" Reid asked.

JJ just smiled. "You'll see," she said. "I've gotta go get some things from home, first. I'll be back soon."

"What do I do then?" said Reid.

"You stay here with Morgan and look after him," JJ replied.

Reid looked at JJ, aghast; he was fine looking after Morgan when JJ was around, but by himself? It may have been Morgan, but he was still a child. And Reid was absolutely hopeless around children.

Seeing the look of horror on Reid's face, JJ said quickly, "You will be absolutely fine, Spence. I won't be gone for that long. And besides, you've looked after Henry for a couple of hours by yourself with no problem."

"This is different, JJ," Reid pointed out. "I have no idea how to look after an adult that's been turned into an child."

"I'm still here," said Morgan sullenly, crossing his arms over his small chest. "Stop talking about me like I'm not." He had a tiny pout on his face, which really did not serve the purpose that Morgan wanted it to. Instead of making him look angry, it just made him look cute.

"Sorry, Derek," said JJ with a smile. "I didn't mean to talk about you like that. Are you right to stay here with Spencer?"

Morgan nodded. "Okay. I don't wanna go anywhere, anyway," he said.

"Why not?" Reid asked curiously.

Morgan hung his head, a look of shame appearing on his face once again.

"Don't want anyone to see me," he muttered.

"Don't worry, Derek. You won't have to leave the house just yet," JJ assured him, reaching out to rub the young boy's shoulder in comfort. Morgan flinched slightly at JJ's touch, but he didn't shy away like he had when JJ had tried to reach out to him earlier. Her touch was comforting- and what Morgan needed more than anything was comfort. "I'll be back soon," JJ promised, picking up the SUV keys off the kitchen bench and walking out of the room, leaving Reid alone with his child-like best friend.

Reid didn't say anything for a very long time. Instead he stared down at his hands, his fingers twitching like they always did when he was nervous. Finally, he opened his mouth. "I have no idea what to do," he admitted, more to himself than to Morgan.

"We can watch a movie," Morgan suggested. "I have heaps."

Reid couldn't help but smile. "How is it you have better ideas than me, when I'm the adult genius and you've been turned into a three-year-old?" he asked incredulously.

Morgan just smiled, and Reid couldn't help but love the way the expression transformed the little boy's face. It was the first time Morgan had smiled since he'd been turned back into a kid, Reid realised. He wondered if Morgan realised that, too.

"Well come on, then," said Reid, rising from his seat at the dining table. "Do you want me to help you down?"

Morgan wanted desperately to be able to say no, but he knew that wasn't an option. There was no way he'd be able to get down from the chair without hurting himself; it was rather high up for a dining chair, Morgan having been quite tall when he was an adult. If he was really honest with himself, the thought of trying to climb down from the chair himself scared Morgan. It was far, far too high for him. Morgan knew that this thought and this fear came from being turned into a child, but it still embarrassed him. This was the type of thing he would never say to anyone. So Morgan nodded, and Reid lifted him into his arms once again.

It wasn't until Reid was holding Morgan that the little boy realised that there was another reason he wanted to be lifted down from the chair: he wanted Reid to hold him again. He wanted any excuse to be in Reid's arms, held tightly against his chest. This was one of the best feelings in the world, and Morgan never wanted Reid to let him go.

Morgan was both relieved and sad when Reid put him down again. Relieved because he hated being treated like a child instead of an adult; he wanted to be as independent as he possibly could. Sad, because a part of him- a small, but strong part- wanted Reid to keep holding him and to carry him into the lounge room to watch the movie. He didn't want to walk by himself. Morgan didn't want Reid to know this, though, and so he didn't protest.

Morgan toddled along behind Reid as fast as his little legs would carry him (which, admittedly, wasn't very fast), making a conscious effort not to reach for the genius's hand. The child part of him wanted the security of holding Reid's hand but the adult part of him didn't want to do that. His tiny hand twitched involuntarily, and he had to fight with himself to not perform the action.

When Reid walked into the living room, he headed straight over to where Morgan stored his movie collection; he had been to Morgan's house a number of times to watch movies, and thus knew exactly where they were. Examining the movie choices, Reid began to realise there was another problem. What movie were they going to watch? Part of Morgan was still an adult, and therefore had watched and knew and understood these movies, but he was a child now. A very young child. And most of Morgan's movie collection would probably terrify a child.

Reid turned to look at Morgan, who had managed to pull himself onto the couch and was sitting there watching Reid, looking rather proud of himself. "Uh… what do you want to watch?" Reid asked.

Morgan opened his mouth, wanting to say 'The Godfather'- one of his favourite movies of all time- but no sound would come out. He had no idea why; he hadn't watched The Godfather in a really long time, and he really wanted to watch it. But something in side him stopped him from saying the name of the movie. Morgan had no idea why, until he really thought about it and he realised… he was too scared to watch it. He knew exactly what happened in the movie, and just the thought of it absolutely terrified him.

Morgan absolutely hated the terror that was filling his heart. He knew that it was because he was a young child that he was feeling this way, because normally the movie didn't scare him at all. But it did now. And there was absolutely no way he was going to watch it.

"I… I think I have Toy Story from when I watched it with Henwy once," Morgan finally said in a small voice. Morgan had liked watching Toy Story the first time around, when he was an adult, but now he felt incredibly excited to watch it. He was practically jumping in his seat, and had to consciously tell himself to sit still. He didn't want Reid to notice his excitement.

Reid turned around to face the DVD collection again, and rifled through the DVDs until he located the one he wanted. "Here it is," he said with a smile, pulling it out of its spot on the shelf. He put it in and pressed play, before moving over to the couch and sitting down beside Morgan. The little boy immediately moved closer to Reid, snuggling into his side. Reid reflexively put an arm around Morgan, holding him close. Even thought Reid knew that Morgan was in a horrible situation, he couldn't help but like having the child that was Morgan nuzzling him like this. It felt nice, and awoke some instinct in Reid he couldn't name and hadn't even known existed before now.

Morgan knew that Reid would realise that it was his child's instincts that led him to cuddle up to the genius, but he didn't care. He liked this so much, he didn't even care what Reid thought about it anymore.

As the movie wore on, Morgan found himself enjoying it more and more. He was the most relaxed he had been since he'd been turned into a child, and therefore his defences were down. He wasn't fighting the urges and the instincts to think and act like a very young child. He didn't even remember that he needed to.

Reid, meanwhile, was watching Morgan just as much as he was watching the movie. The little boy was still curled up against Reid's side, his head resting on Reid's chest. The only time he moved while they watched was to get closer to Reid; like being near Reid kept him calm and comfortable. And that was something, despite JJ trying to explain it to him earlier, that Reid didn't understand.

Speaking of JJ… the front door to Morgan's place opened and the blonde agent entered, carrying a large bag in each hand. "Reid, Derek!" she called out. "I'm back!"

Hearing JJ's voice, Morgan immediately pulled away from Reid and sat back against the arm of the couch, putting as much distance between himself and the genius as possible. He may have been completely comfortable snuggling up close to Reid when it was just the two of them, but not when somebody else was around. It was just far too embarrassing.

Reid felt a slight pang of sadness and disappointment when Morgan pulled away from him, even though he was pretty sure he knew exactly why. He knew Morgan was mostly comfortable around him even though he had been turned into a child, but he wasn't really comfortable around anybody else yet. Therefore when somebody else, in this case JJ, entered the room, Morgan needed to act as normal and as adult as possible.

"What have you got?" Reid asked.

"Supplies for Derek," JJ replied, setting the bags on the ground. "I mean, we don't know how long he's going to be like this, so…" JJ trailed off and looked at Morgan, who did not look happy.

"What kind of supplies?" Reid asked.

"I've got clothes and shoes and those sorts of things in this bag," JJ said, gesturing to the bag on her left. "And I've got toys and games and movies in this bag." She gestured towards the other bag, just as Morgan let out a cry.

"What?" he practically yelled, in as loud a voice as he could muster. "I'm not playing with kid's toys!"

"Derek, like it or not, you are a kid," JJ reminded him gently. "That means you can't do adult things at the moment. And while you may want to, you probably wouldn't enjoy those things. But since you are a child, you would enjoy playing with a child's toys."

Morgan fixed JJ with a look that would've been scary when he was an adult, but right now just looked cute. JJ did, however, understand why Morgan was looking at her that way.

"Derek, I get that you don't want to be a kid again, and that you don't want to be treated like one or to act like one," JJ said. "I really do. But despite how horrible this situation is, you're stuck in it. You've been turned into a very young child, and we don't yet know how to turn you back. You're going to have to live with this for now, Derek. I'm sorry."

Morgan didn't look angry anymore after JJ's speech; he just looked sad again, which in some ways was probably even worse. "I don't wanna be a kid again," he murmured wretchedly, shaking his head slowly as he spoke.

"I know, Derek, I know," JJ whispered gently, using the same voice she used for Henry whenever he got sad. "Nobody would want this. But you may as well try and enjoy yourself while we try and figure out how to change you back."

Morgan shook his head again. "I can't."

Reid, watching Morgan grow sadder and sadder, realised that Morgan's refusal to play with children's toys and to act like a child wasn't just pure stubbornness. He realised Morgan would think that behaving like a child would make him even _more_ of a child, and that was something that Morgan didn't want. He desperately wanted to retain as much of his adult self as possible.

"Derek, hey," Reid said in a soft voice, crouching down in front of where the little boy sat on the couch. "Isn't it better to be at least partially happy and enjoying yourself than just being sad and scared and confused?" Morgan nodded, refusing to look Reid in the eye. "Well then, maybe playing with Henry's old toys and games isn't such a bad idea. You need to relax and enjoy yourself a little bit, Derek. It'll make this far easier on you. Yes, I know you _do not want this_," Reid added, when he saw Morgan open his mouth to speak. "I know you hate it. And I know you think that enjoying these toys and games and acting like a child will make you less of who you really are. But it won't. You're still you, Derek. Inside, at least part of you is still an adult. And that's not going to change, no matter how you act. Okay?"

Morgan slowly nodded. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."

Reid smiled. "Good." He slowly stood up straight again, to find JJ staring at him. "What?" he asked her.

JJ just smiled. "Nothing," she said. "We need to put Derek in new clothes. He's just wearing a shrunken version of the clothes he wore to bed last night, and he can't wear that forever."

"True," Reid said. "Come on, Derek. Let's go pick something else for you to wear." Reid picked up the bag of clothes that JJ had put on the ground, and watched as Morgan turned onto his stomach and slid off the couch. He waited for Morgan to walk over to him, before leading the young boy back to his bedroom.

Reid set the bag on the bed, rifling through it for something for Morgan to wear. Morgan watched do this, feeling rather scared about what JJ had brought for him to wear. This clothing was meant for a child, after all. Definitely not something adult Morgan would wear. And given how much clothing had changed since Morgan's original childhood, probably not something he would've worn back then, either.

Finally, Reid pulled several items of clothing out of the bag and set them down on the bed. Black pants and underwear, rainbow striped socks (something Morgan was sure that Reid wouldn't mind wearing himself) and a bright red shirt with a picture of a bright green dinosaur with blue spots on it. Morgan was definitely embarrassed about wearing the dinosaur shirt. The dinosaur was very cartoonish and very childish, with a toothy grin. But then again, Morgan supposed that it could be worse. And the child part of Morgan _liked_ the dinosaur picture. He started to fight that feeling, but then remembered what Reid had said only moments earlier. _I know you think acting like a child will make you less of who you really are. But it won't. You're still you, Derek. And that's not going to change, no matter how you act_. Against his own wishes, Morgan didn't fight against the feeling. He didn't embrace it, and he didn't like it, but he didn't fight it away.

"Do… do you need help getting changed?" Reid asked tentatively.

"No!" Morgan said instantly. No matter what Reid had said to him, or how small he was now, Morgan was not going to agree to that. That was far, far too embarrassing. And he needed to maintain some semblance of his independence. He had to keep that, at least. "I can do it myself."

"Okay…" Reid hesitated a moment, picking up Morgan's clothes. "You go get changed in the bathroom. "I'll wait out here, just in case. Okay?"

Morgan wanted to tell Reid to go away, that he didn't need him to wait for him, but then he realised that Reid was worried and anxious, and he just wanted to make sure Morgan was okay. He didn't want or mean to embarrass him. He wanted to wait outside to help Morgan just as much as he did for his own peace of mind.

"Okay then," Morgan said. Reid headed over to the bathroom, placing the clothes on the floor for Morgan. The little boy toddled into the room, turning around to face Reid still standing in the doorway.

"I'll be right out here in your bedroom," the genius said. "You call out if you need _anything_, okay?"

Morgan nodded, even though he knew he would do nothing of the sort. He was _not_ going to need Reid's help in this. "Go away now," he ordered in his tiny voice. Reid did as he was commanded, pulling the door almost closed, so Morgan could see a tiny sliver of the room beyond. The child then turned to look at the clothes on the floor. Despite how confidently and resolutely he declared himself able to dress himself, Morgan still felt anxious. He didn't know how easy or hard this would be. What if he _couldn't_ dress himself?

_Well, I'm going to have to find out_, Morgan told himself, pulling his nightshirt over his head. He had to tug hard on the drawstring of his pants before loosening them and pulling them off, quickly followed by his underwear.

Before moving to put on his change of clothes, Morgan examined his small body in the mirror. He was completely hairless, with absolutely no muscle on his body and hardly any fat at all. And his manhood (the child part of him refused to think about the true name for the body part, not as it was in its current form)- well, it was _tiny_.

Unable to bear looking at himself any longer, Morgan turned away from the mirror and steeled himself for the task ahead. He pulled on his underwear and his socks first (a habit that he'd gotten into long ago), before reaching for his pants. After a bit of a struggle, during which he almost lost his balance, Morgan managed to pull them on.

Reaching for his shirt and attempting to pull it on, it wasn't long until Morgan realised he had a problem. Try as he might, he just couldn't get his head through the right hole. And even when he did, he couldn't get his arms into the sleeves. He continually had to pull the shirt off and try again, and each time he failed to put it on properly.

His frustration levels rising, Morgan could feel tears building in his eyes. He knew his levels of control were small because he was a child, and soon he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying. He tried a few more times, but still Morgan couldn't pull his shirt on.

Resigning to the fact that it was his only option, even though it was something he definitely didn't want to do, Morgan called out to Reid in a voice laden with tears. Reid appeared in the doorway instantly, looking down at Morgan with the question in his eyes.

"I… I can't put my shirt on," Morgan muttered ashamedly.

Reid, to his credit, didn't say anything. Instead he just bent down, taking the shirt from Morgan's tiny hands. He slowly pulled the shirt down over Morgan's head, before taking the little boys hands and slowly pulling them through the sleeves. Finally Morgan stood there, fully dressed.

"Thank you," he whispered in a small voice.

"Anytime," Reid replied, and Morgan knew that he meant it. Reid would do anything to make this easier on Morgan.

Morgan found himself filled with the urge to hug Reid as tightly as he possibly could, but before he could do so, he heard JJ's voice calling out from somewhere in the house. "Spencer? Derek?" she called.

"We're in here, JJ?" Reid called back. He wiped the unshed tears gently from Morgan's eyes, so JJ had no idea the little boy had been about to cry again, before straightening up again. Soon JJ entered the room, studying the pair curiously.

"Did you help him dress?" JJ asked Reid.

Reid shook his head. "No," he replied. "I offered, but Derek dressed himself." Morgan was silently grateful for Reid's answer; he didn't want JJ (or anyone else, for that matter) knowing he needed help to put on his shirt. "What's going on?"

Examining JJ's face closely, Morgan realised she looked rather anxious. Whatever had happened or was going to happen, it wasn't good.

"Hotch just called again," JJ answered. "The team needs to talk to the two of us about how where going to explain Morgan's absence and how we're going to go about changing him back to normal. They just left the BAU. They're coming here."

* * *

_A/N: Uh oh, the team is coming! Yeah, cos that's gonna work out fantastically... or not. Guess you're just going to have to wait and see what happens! :P_

_Oh, and you remember in the first chapter, when JJ came to the conclusion that Reid likes someone but he didn't answer? Yeah, that's gonna come up again. Quite soon, I might add. Again, you're just going to have to wait and see! :P_

_And as I say after every single chapter, reviews are very very much appreciated and loved. They never fail to make me smile! :)_


	5. Discussions and 'First' Meetings

_A/N: First of all, my beta Diamond Cobra would like to apologise for the slight delay in posting this chapter. I sent it to her early yesterday morning, but she was at work at the time, and then didn't get to beta-ing until this morning. But at least it's done now!_

_Second of all, my study break starts tomorrow! Therefore I don't have any classes, however I will be studying for my exams. But yay, it means I don't have to go to uni, and hopefully it will mean that I will be able to write and post more often. Hopefully. :P_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

* * *

_Chapter Five: Discussions and 'First' Meetings_

* * *

Reid just stared at JJ. "Wait, _what_?" he gasped. "They're… they're coming here? Without asking us, without seeing what Morgan wants first?"

"They really need come here, Reid," JJ said. "We need to figure out what to do about Derek."

"But he doesn't want to see them!" Reid cried. "Do you?" he added quickly, turning around to look at Morgan. Morgan shook his head resolutely. "See! Morgan doesn't want to even _see_ the others! He's not ready to see them yet! How can they justify coming here, if he doesn't want them to? Couldn't they have just conferenced in on a phone call or something?"

"They need to talk to us in person," JJ said. "It's either they come here and talk to us, or we leave Derek and go to them. And I know you don't want to leave Derek," she added, studying Reid curiously. She'd never known Reid to defend or protect anyone the way she was defending Morgan right now. It was like Morgan being a child had awoken something in Reid, a protective nature that Reid had never known he'd had. One that JJ had always guessed was there.

"No, I don't want to leave him," Reid whispered. "I can't leave him." He turned around to look at Morgan again, who was looking up at Reid with childlike curiosity. Obviously, the little boy had no idea why Reid was reacting the way he did, just as much as Reid didn't know himself.

"This is the only option," JJ said. "We_ need_ to talk to the others. Derek can hide in his bedroom if he wants to. He doesn't have to see them."

"Yeah, I… I'll do that," Morgan decided. Part of him wanted to see the rest of the team, and have them comfort him and tell him everything going to be all right. But the strongest part of him was nowhere near ready to see the team. He was far, far too embarrassed and scared. He didn't want anybody to touch him, like he had when JJ had first tried to touch him. Thinking about the fact that the team would soon be right here, in his house, right near him, so close and wanting to see him, Morgan was so, so scared. He instinctively moved closer to Reid hiding behind the agent's leg.

"You won't have to see them, Derek," Reid promised. "That's your choice, even if they want to see you." Reid felt a pang go through his heart as he spoke. Morgan was the bravest man Reid had ever known. Seeing him reduced to this- a small child, terrified to see even his own team- was heartbreaking. "It's okay."

"They'll be here soon," JJ said. "Hotch called me from the car, and that was a while ago."

"JJ, maybe you should get the other bag so Derek has something to do while we're talking to the team," Reid suggested. He jerked his head slightly, in such a way that Morgan wouldn't notice. Getting the hint, JJ smiled at Reid before leaving the room.

Morgan was clutching at Reid's pant leg, looking rather scared. He most definitely was not ready to see the team. Reid bent down, turning around so he was looking Morgan in the eye. "Hey, you know it's going to be okay, right?" he said. "When the team gets here, I mean."

"I don't want them to see me," Morgan whispered, his voice, reacting to his feelings, becoming more childlike and innocent than before. "I'm not weady for them to see me like this."

"I know, Derek, I know," Reid assured him. "And that's your choice. If you don't want to see them, you don't have to see them."

Morgan nodded, and then appeared to be thinking about something. "W-Weid?" he stammered, sounding rather scared and anxious. "Wh-What if you can't figure it out? What if you can't change me back?"

Reid looked at Morgan, so distressed and so afraid, that his heart basically shattered. "Oh, Derek…" he said, taking the little boy into his arms and holding him to his chest. He rubbed one hand gently up and down Morgan's back, trying to comfort him. "We'll work this out. We'll figure this out, Derek. We'll have you back to your strong, tough, kicking-down-doors self in no time. Okay?"

Morgan nodded his tiny little head against Reid's chest. "Okay," he whispered.

"Good," said Reid. "Now let's find something for you to do while JJ and I talk to the others, yeah?"

Morgan nodded again and Reid pulled away from the small boy. "You'll probably enjoy playing with the same things you did when you were a child the first time around," Reid said. "What did you like then? I mean, besides sports, of course."

Morgan thought for a moment. "Twains," he said finally. "I liked twains."

Reid smiled. "Now I know Henry has trains, because I remember playing with him many, many times. There's bound to be some in here somewhere." Reid went rifling through the bag, and sure enough, he pulled out a set of train tracks and two of Henry's toy trains. "Now let me set this up before the others get here."

Morgan sat down on the floor in front of Reid, while the profiler set up the train set. He watched Reid curiously, unable to help the feeling of excitement rising in his chest. He _wanted_ to play with this train set. More importantly, he wanted _Reid_ to play with the train set with him. This feeling was so strange; it was the same feeling he had felt ever since he'd woken up as a child, but it was still one Morgan was unable to explain.

"Can you play with me?" Morgan asked when Reid had finished setting up the trains. "Just until the others get here?"

Reid hesitated, but then smiled. "Of course. Just until the team gets here." Reid picked up one train and Morgan picked up the other one, and the two of them began to play. Morgan couldn't deny it; he was enjoying himself. They weren't really doing very much, but this was a simple pleasure, and the child part of Morgan loved it. They weren't playing for very long, though, when there was a loud and insistent knock on Morgan's front door.

Morgan froze, the fear he had forgotten while playing with Reid rising in him again. The team was here, at his house. He knew they wanted to see him, but god, he didn't want to see them. Morgan looked up at Reid, the dread obvious in his eyes.

"You just stay in here and keep playing," Reid told him. "Just stay in here and keep playing with the trains, and don't even think about the team. I'll tell them you don't want to see them." Reid made to get to his feet, but before he did he reached out and took Morgan's tiny hand in his own. "We _will_ figure this out," Reid said to him. "I promise you that." Morgan didn't know what to say, so instead he said nothing. With one final squeeze of Morgan's hand, Reid rose to his feet and left the room.

When Reid arrived in the living room, he found that JJ had already let the rest of the team into the house. Rossi and Prentiss were hanging back behind JJ, Hotch was standing next to her, and Garcia had stepped forward as soon as Reid appeared. "Where's Derek?" she asked instantly. "Where's my baby boy?"

"He's in his bedroom," said Reid cautiously, knowing what question was coming next. Sure enough…

"Can I see him?" Garcia asked.

Reid hesitated, not really knowing what to say. Prentiss, seeing Reid's expression, spoke up quickly. "I don't think that's really a good idea right now, Garcia," she said.

"Why? Why can't I see him?" Garcia demanded. "I need to see him! I just- I just need to see that he's okay!"

"I know that, Garcia, but we just came by here without asking first," Prentiss said. "He was probably really startled when he was told we were coming. Wasn't he, Reid?"

Latching onto this, because it was partially true, Reid nodded. "Yeah," he said. "It definitely startled him, when he found out you guys were coming here. And since he's a very small child, that was amplified. And he's, well… he's still too scared to see you guys. He doesn't want you to see him like this, quite yet."

Garcia's head dropped, her eyes downcast. "I understand," she said in a small voice. "I just… I want to see him. But I- I can wait. If that's what Derek wants."

"Thanks, Garcia," Reid whispered. Looking over at Prentiss, he mouthed _thank you_.

_Any time,_ Prentiss mouthed back. JJ watched this exchange with a curious eye.

"We need to talk first, anyway," said Hotch, as usual sounding very direct and devoid emotion. The rest of the team knew this wasn't the case, though. He was just as worried about Morgan as the rest of the team were.

They headed over to the couches arranged in Morgan's living room, Reid taking a seat between Prentiss and JJ. Prentiss watched Reid worriedly, and JJ watched Prentiss curiously. Luckily nobody else, including Reid, seemed to notice.

"Okay, so what are we going to do about this?" Rossi asked, breaking the uneasy silence that had settled over the group.

"I think first of all, we need to figure out what Morgan did last night," Hotch said. He turned to look at Reid and JJ. "Has Morgan told you what he did last night?"

Reid shook his head. "I don't think he remembers," Reid admitted. "He has absolutely no idea how this happened or who could've done this to him. If he did, we would've tried to fix it already."

"Well then, we need to retrace Morgan's steps," Hotch concluded. "Garcia, do you think you can get on that?"

Garcia nodded. "I can check his credit card and his cell phone, see if I can try and pin down where he was…" she said, but with none of her usual happiness or perkiness. Instead she just sounded sad and worried.

"Good," said Hotch. "JJ can probably help you with that." The blonde agent nodded. Both Hotch and JJ knew that Garcia wouldn't need that much help normally, but right now she wasn't really in a state to work to anywhere near her full capacity. And all of them could sense that Garcia really didn't want to be alone right now.

"We need to figure out how to explain Morgan's absence at work to Strauss," Rossi spoke up. "I mean, we definitely cannot tell her the truth." The rest of the team nodded and murmured their agreement.

"Definitely not," Hotch agreed. "It won't just be Morgan's absence we're explaining, though. Somebody's going to have to stay with him."

"I will," said Reid instantly. Everybody else turned to look at him, shocked. "Derek trusts me. He- he feels safe around me. I comfort him, I think."

"You do," JJ confirmed. "Definitely. You're the only one who can get him to do things. The only one who can get him to stop crying."

"And I… I don't think I can leave him," Reid added. "I can't bear the thought of leaving Derek. I have to know he's safe and he's okay. I have to be able to see it with my own two eyes."

JJ reached over and took Reid's hand, squeezing it in comfort. "I don't think Derek would want Spencer to leave, either. He's comfortable around him."

Hotch, not knowing what else to say, just nodded. "Okay then. Reid, you can stay here with Morgan. If we really need your help at the office, we can just call you and you can help over the phone."

"I can do some paperwork here, too," Reid suggested.

"All right, then," said Hotch. "But we still need to explain why both you and Morgan can't come in to work."

"We could say Morgan's sick…" Prentiss mused. "Like, he's contagious and incapacitated or something. That could also explain why he can't call in himself or anything."

"That could work," said Hotch. "But what about Reid?"

"I could just take some leave," Reid suggested. "Everyone knows I have plenty, considering I hardly ever take time off. I could say I'm looking after Morgan, which technically is true."

"Okay, but you are going to need to come in to the office to fill out the leave forms," said Hotch.

"Can't you bring them to me?" Reid asked. "I-I really don't want to leave, Hotch."

Hotch studied Reid for a moment before answering. "Of course," he said. "One of us will bring them to you later." Hotch looked around at his team. "We need to figure out where we're going to go from here."

"While you do that, I'm going to go check on Derek," Reid said, rising to his feet and leaving the room. The rest of the team watched him as he went.

"Derek?" said Reid cautiously, pushing open the door to Morgan's bedroom. Morgan was still sitting on the floor, looking rather content playing with the trains, but it was obvious he'd been listening to the team talking in the room beyond. "How're you doing? Do you need anything?"

Morgan shook his head. "I'm okay," he said. "Just playing. I like the trains."

Reid smiled. "Good. Are you sure you don't want something to eat or drink?"

Morgan shook his head again, and then his expression became downcast. "Gar-Gar-Garcia wants to see me, doesn't she?" he said, struggling to pronounce his best friend's name properly.

"Yes she does, Derek," Reid sighed. "But you don't have to see her if you don't want to."

"No," Morgan shook his head. "I want to. I'm scared, but… I want to."

Reid watched the little boy for any sign of hesitation, but there was none. "Okay," he said finally. "Just Garcia."

Morgan nodded. "Just her," he said. "Don't wanna see the others, yet."

"I'll go get her," Reid said softly, before leaving the room again.

Reid came out into the living room to find the rest of the team getting up to leave. "We're heading back to the office, Reid," Hotch said. "We'll work on this from there. That way things will appear as normal as possible."

"Wait, before you guys go, uh…" Reid hesitated, unsure how to phrase what he was about to say. "Derek wants to see Garcia."

"He does?" said Garcia, instantly livening up. "But I thought… I thought he was too scared to see any of us? I thought he wasn't ready?"

"He is scared," Reid amended. "But he wants to see you, Garcia. He doesn't want you to go."

"I can go back to the office and get Garcia's laptop and Spencer's leave forms and bring them back here," JJ suggested.

"All right, then," Hotch said. "We'll see the two of you later." The rest of the team filed out of the house, leaving Reid and Garcia alone.

"He really wants to see me?" Garcia said again.

Reid nodded. "He does. But, Garcia… you need to be cautious. Don't be too full on, and don't treat him too much like a child. He hates it."

Garcia nodded. "I understand," she said.

"You might want to prepare yourself, Garcia," Reid cautioned. "This is… it's hard to see Derek like this, the first time around. It's _still _hard for me to see him like this."

"Okay," said Garcia. "I just have to see him, Reid."

Reid took a deep breath, as if to steel himself for how Garcia would react. "Come on then," he said. He moved towards Morgan's bedroom door. "Derek? Garcia and I are coming in," he called out. He didn't get an answer, but then again he wasn't expecting one. Holding up a finger in warning to Garcia, Reid pushed open the door and went into the room.

He found Morgan sitting against his bed, watching Reid and Garcia cautiously. Reid looked over at Garcia, who was just staring at the little boy that was Morgan with her mouth open. Reid could understand her reaction; he had reacted pretty much the same way when he'd first seen Morgan. Garcia was speechless as she looked at the child, with his tiny little features, his dinosaur shirt and the trains set up in front of him. Morgan just stared up at Garcia, looking slightly afraid.

"Derek…" she whispered. "Oh, Derek…" Her heart was breaking, Reid could tell. She hated seeing Morgan like this, just as much as Reid did.

"You… you can try and touch him, Garcia," Reid said, in a voice quiet enough that Morgan couldn't hear. "I can't- can't guarantee that he'll let you, though."

"Okay," Garcia replied. She moved closer to Morgan, crouching down just in front of him. "Hey, Derek," she said gently. Morgan shrank back slightly against the bed, feeling scared. He didn't want to feel scared. He really, really didn't. Garcia was his best friend, and he loved her dearly. But she was so imposing, and full on, and _loud_. And while the adult Morgan was used to that, the child Morgan was scared by it.

"It's alright," Garcia whispered. "It's just me. It's just Garcia." After a moment's hesitation, Garcia reached out and took Morgan's tiny hand in hers. Morgan flinched at her touch, and his first instinct was to pull away. He told himself not to, though. It was Garcia, and he trusted her. After a while, when the child part of Morgan realised that Garcia wasn't going to hurt him, he relaxed, his fear beginning to fade away. He allowed Garcia to pull him into her arms and hold him close. In fact, he welcomed her touch. Garcia had hugged him so many times before, and he remembered what her hugs felt like. But they had never felt so good, so comforting. Morgan had never wanted Garcia to hug him so much.

Finally, Garcia let Morgan go and pulled away, studying the little boy. "How… how are you feeling?" she asked him cautiously.

"O-okay," Morgan stammered, Garcia starting at the sound of his tiny, singsong voice. "Scared. W-W- Spencer's been looking after me." He'd tried to say 'Reid', but once again he'd been unable to pronounce the 'r' sound. And he hadn't wanted Garcia to hear him unable to pronounce the sound.

"So JJ said," said Garcia with a small smile. "You know, we're all working on how to change you back to normal. We're not going to stop until we do."

"I know," said Morgan. "I'm still scared, though."

"I know, baby, I know," Garcia said. "I don't blame you. Anyone would be." She looked at the train set that was set up in front of Morgan. "Were you playing with this while we were talking?" she asked.

Morgan nodded. "I- I like twains," he told her, feeling embarrassed- both at his inability to pronounce the word trains properly, and at the fact that he really enjoyed playing with trains.

"Did you want some juice, Derek?" Reid asked suddenly, fixing Morgan with a pointed look. Morgan nodded vigorously in response; not only because he realised Reid wanted to talk to Garcia, but because he was actually rather thirsty as well. "Garcia, why don't you come with me?"

Garcia was about to protest, but seeing the looking on Reid's face she relented. "Okay," she said, rising to her feet and following Reid out of the room.

"Sorry, Garcia," Reid said when they were back in the living room. "I just didn't want to talk to you about this in front of Derek. It really embarrasses him."

"Of course it does," said Garcia, sighing. "He probably really hates the situation he's in, doesn't he?"

Reid nodded. "Oh, he definitely does. Anyway, Garcia, I just wanted to explain to you what's happening with Morgan right now. I mean, he hasn't exactly told me that he wants you to know, but then again I don't think even _he_ really knows what's going on with him right now. He's just so confused. And, well… I think you should know."

For the first time since she had arrived at Morgan's house, Garcia could see the worry and fear for their friend in Reid's eyes. She had known that Morgan was scared and confused, but she hadn't realised how terrified Reid was because of it. He was really afraid that Morgan was suffering. He was really afraid that they'd never be to change Morgan back to his old self again. He was really afraid that he was never going to get his best friend back.

Reaching out, Garcia took Reid's hand and squeezed it in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. "Why don't you explain to me exactly what's going on in Derek's head?"

"Well, it's like… like Derek's former adult self is fighting with the child's mind he now has," Reid said. "He _wants_ to act the way he normally does, and do the things he normally does, but his mind and his instincts are fighting against him. He can't help but think like a child and act like a child, because even though that part of his mind is small, it's far stronger than his adult self. He hates it, and it's very embarrassing for him, and he's afraid that he won't be able to be his true self ever again if he gives in to his instincts and acts like the child he now is."

"What do you think?" Garcia asked. "About whether Derek should just give in to his instincts, I mean."

"I- well, I don't think it will make him any less of who he is," Reid admitted. "I don't think it will make him forget that he's supposed to be an adult, either. I just… I think it will make this easier for him, if he listens to his instincts and what the child that he now is wants and needs. He's expending so much energy fighting those instincts, he's making this so much harder on himself than it needs to be."

"You're really worried about him, aren't you?" Garcia said in a soft voice.

"I am," Reid sighed. "Not just because this is so hard on him, but… well, I'm just as afraid as Derek is that he'll never be his adult self again."

Without a word of warning, Garcia put her arms around Reid and hugged him tightly. Reid was not a very tactile person, but this was Garcia, and he knew that she was trying to comfort him. She didn't want him to feel so afraid about Morgan's future. "We'll figure this out, boy wonder. You, and me, and the rest of the team, we'll figure out how this happened to our boy, and we'll get him back to his old, kick-ass self again. Just you wait and see."

* * *

_A/N: Writing this chapter just made me feel really sorry for Morgan- I'd hate to be in his situation. Next chapter will get into more of the cute stuff, and the team trying to figure out how Morgan was turned into a child in the first place. Stay tuned!_

_Reviews would be very much welcomed and enjoyed! :)_


	6. Hide and go Seek

_A/N: I am sooo sorry this took so long, guys! I had my university exams, and since I need to get 70% or more as my final grade (which in Australia is at least a B) in all my core subjects to be able to do my honours year, that took up a lot of my time. But fret not, for now I am on mid-year break until July 22nd, so I will have plenty of time to write!_

_Oh, and I have also FINALLY finished the next chapter of Chicago, but I won't be able to post that until it is beta-ed. It will be up very soon, though, so keep an eye out for it!_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

* * *

_Chapter Six: Hide and go Seek_

* * *

Back at the BAU, Prentiss, Rossi and JJ were watching from the bullpen as Hotch talked to Strauss. They were all praying that she couldn't tell that Hotch was lying through his teeth when told her why Morgan was going to be away from the BAU for an indefinite period of time. They couldn't exactly tell her the truth, she would never believe them and would probably have their mental states evaluated. Luckily, Hotch was a very highly skilled profiler, and that led to him being easily able to cover something up if he needed to. But they still worried.

"What if she doesn't believe him?" Prentiss asked, finally voicing what they'd all been worrying about.

"She will," said Rossi confidently. "You could argue that Morgan is not well, so technically Hotch isn't lying. As for Reid asking for time off… well, I think she'll understand that someone would have to look after Morgan. And he said himself, he has plenty of leave to use."

The three agents didn't even bother to look busy as Hotch walked purposefully towards them through the bullpen. "She's accepted Morgan's sick leave," he said, to sighs of relief from the other three. "And she's granted Reid leave. Here." Hotch held out Reid's leave forms to JJ, which she took. "You can take these back to him now."

"So there wasn't any trouble?" Prentiss asked.

"Well she did ask why Reid has to be the one to look after Morgan, but when I explained to her that all of his family is in Chicago, she relented," Hotch replied. "Now that we've solved that problem, we can focus all of our spare time on trying to figure out how this happened to him in the first place."

"We'll have to appear as normal as possible," said Rossi. "Nobody can know that something's up, because nobody can know what's happened to Morgan."

"Scientists and doctors would run test after test on him," said Prentiss. "He'd be a lab rat. And none of us want that, including Morgan. But how do we figure out how this happened to him?"

"We need to wait until Garcia can go retrace Morgan's steps and figure out where he was yesterday," said JJ. She started to rise to her feet, but then took a look at her watch. "It's kinda late now. I'll take it to them in the morning."

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Prentiss asked.

"We do our paperwork, and try and appear as normal as possible," Hotch said. "Like JJ said, we need to wait until Garcia retraces Morgan's steps. Then we can get to work on figuring out what happened to him. But for now, we wait."

***************CMxSRxDMxFF***

At the same time as Hotch was talking to Strauss, the little boy that was Morgan was once again sitting at the dining room table, sipping from the orange juice that Reid had gotten for him. It had taken Reid a while to find a cup appropriate for Morgan to drink from- he couldn't drink from a glass one because he was likely to drop it and break it. Finally Reid had found a plastic cup in the back of the cupboard that was appropriate for the hands of a little boy, and had filled that with the juice.

Garcia had watched curiously when, without a word, Morgan had lifted up his arms to allow Reid to lift him up onto the dining chair. She also hadn't failed to notice Morgan snuggle into Reid's chest for the brief moment that he was in Reid's arms, and how he'd almost clung to Reid as he put him down. He was obviously comforted by the genius's touch.

Morgan deliberately didn't make eye contact with Garcia as he drank his juice. He knew that she was watching him, studying him, both curiously and pityingly, and he just couldn't meet her eyes. A part of him wanted Garcia to hold him and play with him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but another part of him wanted to hide from her and tell her to go away. And he wasn't sure which part was the child and which part was the adult.

"Do you want any more?" Reid asked Morgan when he finished drinking.

Morgan shook his head. He didn't feel like he could drink anymore. In fact, he felt rather bored- rather restless. "Can we go outside?" he asked Reid hopefully.

Reid felt rather uncertain. He didn't really know what Morgan's backyard was like, and he didn't know whether he'd be able to stop the child from getting into a sticky situation and hurting himself.

Garcia, however, felt otherwise. "I don't see why not," she said brightly. "What do you say, Reid?"

Reid still felt unsure, but when he looked down at Morgan's face he saw excitement shining in the little boy's eyes. He couldn't deny that look. And anything that would make Morgan happy and get him to forget how scared he was, even for a while, was a good idea in Reid's eyes. "Of course," he said finally, and he couldn't help but feel warm inside as Morgan's face lit up and a huge smile spread across his face. "Do you want me to help you down?" Reid knew Morgan would say yes, but he felt like- for Morgan's sake- he had to ask. Just as he thought, Morgan nodded, and Reid reached over and helped the little boy to the floor. He led Morgan outside, Garcia close on their heels.

Reid had only been in Morgan's backyard once before, and therefore could only vaguely remember what it looked like. When they stepped outside, however, the first thought that crossed Reid's mind was that this yard was perfect for a small child. There was a large grassed area with plenty of room to run around on, which Reid assumed was because of Clooney. Speaking on Clooney…

A sudden barking sound could be heard coming from Morgan's garage. The little boy jumped suddenly, startled, hiding behind Reid and clutching at his pant leg. "Hey, Derek, it's only Clooney," Reid whispered soothingly. "It's only your dog, Derek. That's all the barking is. It's just Clooney."

Morgan nodded, but still didn't let go of Reid. "The barking is scawy," he admitted sadly.

"I know it is, Derek," said Reid. "But Clooney's locked in your garage, isn't he?" Morgan nodded. "So he can't get to you. He's in there, and you're out here. You're safe."

Morgan peeked around the side of Reid's leg, watching the garage. He hated feeling scared of Clooney- he'd owned that dog for near on ten years, for crying out loud! And Clooney wasn't exactly a big dog, either. But for a very small, three-year-old child, Clooney _would_ be absolutely terrifying, Morgan supposed. And when Morgan had been a child the first time around, he'd never owned a dog. It made sense that he would be scared.

It was a long few minutes that Morgan watched the garage. He could still hear Clooney barking, seeking a way to get out and play, but the door was firmly locked and there was no way the dog was getting into the backyard. Finally reassured, Morgan moved out from behind Reid. "You okay?" Reid asked him.

Morgan nodded. "Can we play now?" he asked.

"Of course," Reid said with a smile. "What do you want to play?"

"Hide and go seek?" said Morgan hopefully.

Reid couldn't help but chuckle at the look on Morgan's face. "We sure can. Why don't you go hide, and Garcia and I will come and find you?"

Morgan nodded excitedly. "Cover your eyes," he ordered. "No peeking."

Garcia almost burst out laughing, but one look at Reid sobered her up instantly. The childlike innocence and excitement that Morgan was obviously filled with was adorable, but if they alerted Morgan even slightly that the way he was acting was out of his norm, he would stop and the fear would fill him again. "We wouldn't dream of it," she assured the little boy. "Come on, Reid." The two of them made a show about covering their eyes, counting loudly to twenty as Morgan hid. When they turned around, he was nowhere to be seen.

They knew he couldn't have gotten far though. Because he was so small, he couldn't run very fast, and they knew he was still somewhere in the yard. "Where do you think he could be?" Garcia asked loudly.

Reid stared at Garcia, confused, and she shot him a pointed look. Realising that they were just putting on a show for Morgan, Reid answered, "I have no idea, Garcia. I can't see him anywhere."

Hearing a rustling sound, Reid started and looked towards the left side of the yard. He motioned to Garcia, who smiled at him. The two of them began searching everywhere else in the yard, all the while making loud comments about how they couldn't find Morgan. Eventually, the only spot they hadn't searched was the bushes where Reid had heard the rustling sound coming from. Reid and Garcia crept over to the spot, and peered over the top of the bushes to find Morgan crouching behind them. "Found you!" Reid cried.

Morgan beamed at him. "Took ya long enough!" he said, laughing. This was the happiest he had been since he had been turned into a child, and Reid for one hoped it would last. "Can you hide for me now?"

"Of course," said Reid. "No peeking now!"

Morgan made a show of covering his eyes with his tiny little hands, and Reid and Garcia went off to find a hiding spot that was not so difficult that Morgan wouldn't find them, but not so easy that he would think they were babying him. Which they found- it was a good five minutes before Morgan found them hiding.

"Can I… can I have dinner now?" Morgan asked tentatively after he found them. "I'm hungwy."

"Of course you can," said Reid. To Garcia he whispered, "I have no idea what to give him."

"It's okay," Garcia whispered back. "I'll see what you've got in your fridge, and I'll whip something up. You just keep the little one occupied."

"Thanks, Garcia." Garcia headed inside, leaving Morgan watching Reid curiously.

"What were you talking 'bout?" Morgan asked.

"Just what to cook you for dinner," Reid replied, rather cautiously. "Because, well, we can't cook you what you normally have. It's too big a meal for you, and, well, your body probably can't handle it now."

"Oh." Morgan looked down at his feet- his tiny, tiny feet. He was beginning to remember just how horrible a situation he was in right now, and exactly how much his body had changed. The food Morgan had eaten as an adult was probably too much for his small, still-developing body to handle and digest. _Goodbye, processed foods_, Morgan thought to himself sadly. He wondered what on earth Garcia was going to cook for him. Would it be like what JJ had made him, and be as plain and as small as toast and fruit? For some reason, the thought greatly depressed him.

As if he could read Morgan's mind, Reid crouched down in front of the little boy. "I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever Garcia cooks for you. It is Garcia cooking it, after all. And you know how amazing Garcia's cooking is."

Morgan nodded. Garcia's cooking _was_ amazing. He may not be able to eat what he was used to, but at least with Garcia cooking, hopefully it would be something good.

"Come on, then," said Reid. "Let's head inside, and get washed up before dinner." Reid turned and headed back into the house, Morgan following behind him. Morgan found, however, that he had to basically drag himself back into the house. He felt incredibly tired, like he had been drained of all his energy. At first Morgan couldn't figure out why- he hadn't even done that much, especially for him. But then it hit him: because he was only a small child, he had far less energy. And for a small child, he had done quite a lot that day.

Reid led Morgan into the bathroom. "I'm going to have to hold you up so you can wash your hands, okay?" he told Morgan. The young boy nodded reluctantly and Reid hoisted him up, holding him up to the sink so he could wash his hands. Reid put him down and handed him a towel so he could dry himself, the water, sadly, not only covering his hands but much of his arms as well. He then led him into the kitchen where Garcia was waiting.

"Hey there, you two!" she said jovially. "You like chicken?" Morgan nodded. "Good, because that's what I made you. Chicken with some chips. You hungry?"

Morgan nodded frantically. His stomach had been rumbling ever since he had been hiding from Reid and Garcia while playing hide-and-seek, and now he was absolutely starving. Dinner couldn't come any sooner for him. He looked back at Reid, who understood instantly. The genius bent down and lifted Morgan into his chair once again. It wasn't until Garcia pushed Morgan's dinner towards him that the little boy realised the table was set for his two friends as well. They were having basically the same thing as Morgan was, except his chicken was cut up into small pieces for him. Like he had when JJ had made him lunch, Morgan _hated_ that his food had to be cut up for him. He knew it was necessary, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Once again, Morgan found that he was eating rather slowly. He was eating as fast as he could, but for the most part he could only eat one piece of food at a time. His mouth was just too small, and his body just wasn't big enough to take in that much food. He almost didn't even finish his dinner, and when he did it was to find that Reid and Garcia had finished long before him. "You had enough there?" Garcia asked him kindly.

Morgan nodded, his head beginning to droop. His eyelids felt very heavy, and Morgan himself felt incredibly tired. He was unable to stifle a yawn, fisting at his tired and itchy eyes as he did so. It wasn't even that late, but Morgan was _exhausted_.

Both Reid and Garcia noticed Morgan's yawn. Watching the little boy closely, Reid remarked, "You look really tired, Derek."

"Am not," Morgan argued stubbornly, but his words were punctuated by another yawn. He was struggling to keep his eyes open now.

"There's no point in arguing, Derek, because there's no way you're going to win," said Reid. "Come on. I'll take you to bed."

Morgan reluctantly agreed, and Reid lifted him out of his chair and into his arms. Morgan allowed his head to rest against Reid's chest, snuggling in close as his eyes began to close. Reid stroked Morgan's hair instinctively as he looked over at Garcia. "I'll put him to bed. You wait out here." Garcia nodded and Reid walked out of the room, holding the child close to his chest.

Morgan's hands were in fists, one of them clutching Reid's shirt tightly while the other just rested against the man's chest. His eyes were barely open now; only a sliver of white could be seen and Morgan could barely see where Reid was carrying him. He felt more than saw Reid stop, and dimly registered that Reid had set him down on his bed. He heard Reid search through something for a few minutes, before coming back over to the bed. He had no idea what Reid was doing, and while he was still awake Morgan could not muster the strength to open his eyes and look at him. He just lay there on his bed, not yet asleep but not truly awake either.

The next thing Morgan registered was his shirt being pulled up over his head, his socks being slowly taken off and then his pants being pulled down and off his legs. He was being undressed, he realised. He knew that the situation should have been making him feel some sort of emotion, but right now he was far too tired to care.

Morgan very dimly realised that his underwear had been taken off as well, and he was now lying completely naked on his bed. He shivered reflexively from the cold; he wished Reid would just hurry up and dress him already, so he could finally go to sleep! Finally, Reid put a new pair of underwear on Morgan. The material felt strange against the little boy's skin; not like what underwear was normally made out of, and kind of stretchy, too. He was far too tired to puzzle out what it was right now, however, so he let his questions remain unspoken. Some kind of outfit was put on Morgan, too- one that covered his whole body, including his feet. This one was very soft and comfortable, and Morgan instantly liked it.

"Time to get into bed, Derek," Reid whispered gently, picking up Morgan and pulling back the bed covers before tucking the child in nice and tight. Morgan felt warm, and he didn't have any energy left to move even a little. He felt something soft press against the top of his forehead, and it took him a moment to realise that it was Reid kissing him there. "Sweet dreams," the genius whispered, and it wasn't long until Morgan was fast asleep.

* * *

_A/N: I know that chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I felt that that was the perfect place to end it. If I had've put the next part in this chapter, it would have been far too long. And in the next chapter, the team will finally get to work on figuring out how Morgan was turned into a child in the first place._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, reviews are very much welcomed, and rewarded with virtual hugs and chocolate :P_


	7. Early Morning Anger

_A/N: Sooo, guess what? I have a new chapter for you guys! :) This one gets rather cute and sad at the same time, and I hope it was worth the wait!_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

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_Chapter Seven: Early Morning Anger_

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Reid had intended to leave the bedroom as soon as he'd tucked Morgan in, and leave the little boy be. But he'd turned around for just a moment to make sure Morgan was asleep, and was unable to take his eyes off of him. The boy was clutching at the bed covers with one hand, bunching them around his neck, and he was gently sucking on the thumb of the other hand. He was sound asleep, and he looked so, so peaceful…

Reid sunk into the chair beside Morgan's bed, not taking his eyes off his sleeping form. Morgan was definitely tired out; he'd fallen asleep within seconds of being tucked into bed. The events of the day- playing hide and seek- must have drained Morgan of all his energy. The only movement coming from the boy was the rising and falling of his tiny chest as he breathed in and out. The calmness in the room allowed Reid to think, something that he hadn't allowed himself to do in depth through the day, not wanting to show Morgan how much this was affecting him. As he watched Morgan sleep, he couldn't help the sadness that filled him.

"How could this happen to you?" Reid whispered. "How could somebody have done this to you? How could somebody have turned you back into a child? What could you have done to deserve this?"

Even though Reid was speaking aloud, there was no answer to his questions. Not that he was expecting any; he may have hoped for them, but he knew that hope was futile. Despite how peaceful Morgan looked now, Reid knew the turmoil that was going on in his mind during his waking hours. Morgan yearned to be back to his old self again. He _hated_ what had happened to him. Reid could imagine that, especially for someone with a personality like Morgan's, being turned into a child again would be absolute torture.

"Reid?" Reid thoughts were interrupted by a voice from the doorway. He looked up, startled, to find Garcia standing there watching him. "You okay?"

"I- uh, yeah…" Reid said, his eyes drifting from Garcia back to Morgan. "Sorry, I know I said I was going to come back out, but, he… he just looks so peaceful, sleeping, I- I couldn't help but watch him."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Garcia told him. "I don't mind, really." She followed Reid's gaze, her eyes alighting upon Morgan. "He's adorable when he's sleeping, isn't he?"

Reid nodded. "He is. Don't tell him we think that, though. He'll hate that." He fell silent again, his hands unusually still in his lap.

"Okay, what are you thinking up in that big brain of yours, doctor?" Garcia asked.

Reid sighed, running a hand down his face before speaking. "I'm worried, Garcia. I'm scared. What if we can't figure out how he became like this? What if we do, but we can't figure out how to change him back? What if he's stuck like this, and can't be turned back into his old self, and has to grow up all over again? Or what if he's just stuck in a child's body for the rest of his life?"

"Hey, Reid, you can't think like that," Garcia said. "You gotta think positive. We have to believe that we can get Derek back to his old self again, or we'll never be able to do it. And if he sees that we think he'll never become an adult again, then _he'll_ start to believe it, and he'll lose all hope. And we can't have Derek lose hope. We have to make this as easy on him as possible, and hope is the only thing that's going to get him through this."

"I know," Reid sighed. "I just… I worry, you know?"

"I know," said Garcia. "We all know. It's who you are Reid, and we don't mind that at all." She moved closer to Reid, resting a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "And I know how much Derek means to you. You're his best friend, and vice versa. It's natural that you feel so worried about him."

"I don't know about the me being Derek's best friend thing, but thanks, Garcia," said Reid. "I am pretty sure his best friend is you, though."

"You can have more than one best friend, you know," Garcia pointed out. "Different types of best friends, too." Garcia glanced at her watch. "I should probably go. Kevin will be waiting for me, and since he doesn't know about Morgan…"

"Of course," said Reid. "Go ahead."

"Will you be fine here by yourself?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," Reid assured her. "I don't think Derek's going to be awake for a long time, yet. JJ's coming back in the morning, anyway."

"As long as you're sure. I'll be back in the morning, too. JJ has my laptop, and maybe if I'm able to retrace Morgan's steps and tell him where he was, it might jog his memory. So it's probably best if I do all that stuff here."

"Okay," Reid sighed. "See you in the morning, then."

"Hey. Make sure _you_ get some sleep too, you know," Garcia told him. "You can't keep watch over Derek all night."

Reid chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Garcia. I will. Goodnight."

Before leaving the room, Garcia moved over to Morgan's bed and gently stroked the sleeping child's hair. Then she was gone, the room descending into silence once more. Reid still sat in the chair watching Morgan. Garcia had told him to get some sleep, but it was still rather early. He could stay here with Morgan for a little while longer. Maybe he could read a book, though. Searching through Morgan's bookshelf, he found one that looked appealing and settled back into his chair, opened the book and began to read.

The next thing Reid knew, sunlight was streaming in the windows to Morgan's bedroom. He blinked rapidly, trying to wake himself up, and shifting the book that lay open on his lap onto the floor. He looked over at Morgan, relieved to find that the little boy was fast asleep. Reid had held out some hope that Morgan would have become his old self again in his sleep, but he knew that hope was futile. There was no way changing Morgan back would be that easy.

As Reid watched Morgan, though, the young boy began to stir. He shifted under his sheets, removing his thumb from his mouth and yawning softly. Finally he began blinking, and then he opened his eyes and turned to look at Reid.

"Morning," Reid said softly. "Did you sleep well?"

Morgan nodded, looking slightly confused, like he couldn't remember where he was. Reid wasn't surprised; Morgan had been almost asleep when Reid had carried him to bed, anyway. "I put you to bed last night, if that's what you were wondering, Derek. I hope you don't mind."

Morgan shook his head. "Don't mind, but that's not it." The sleepiness in Morgan's voice was evident, and it made his voice sound even smaller and more childlike than it already did. Morgan was trying to figure something out, but he was still far too tired to think straight. He rubbed at his eyes with his fists, trying to clear them and stop them from itching. He then blinked rapidly, trying to bring his vision into focus properly. First his vision focused on Reid, but then one had clutched at the clothes he was wearing and he looked down, examining them properly. Morgan had been far, far too tired to even know or care what clothing he had been put into. He had barely even registered that he was being dressed at all.

"You changed me?" Morgan realised.

Reid nodded. "Derek, I'm sorry, I know that's not something you would want me to do, and I know that it must embarrass you, but you were far too tired to dress yourself and you couldn't wear what you were already dressed in to bed…" Reid trailed off, when he realised that Morgan was paying more attention to the clothes he was wearing than to what Reid was saying. Yes, Morgan was embarrassed about Reid having to dress him- that was something Morgan had never wanted to happen. But that wasn't what Morgan was focused on right now. He was focused on exactly _what_ he was wearing.

Morgan may have dimly registered that he was being dressed the night before, but he'd had no idea what Reid had dressed him in. The material his pajamas were made out of was soft; softer than anything Morgan had ever worn before. They were a pale, sky blue colour, and had pictures of cartoon ducks on them. And they had feet. _Feet_. Reid had dressed him in _footie pajamas. _Morgan felt almost humiliated; footie pajamas were something he would never ever worn. Yes, he was a little kid now, but he absolutely hated wearing them. Even if they were really comfortable…

"Footie pajamas?" he said out loud, finally, to Reid.

Reid hesitated for a moment, knowing that finding out he was wearing footie pajamas had probably embarrassed Morgan to no end. Morgan was one of the toughest, manliest men Reid had ever known, and footie pajamas were, well… childish and cute. Nothing Morgan would even dream of wearing.

"I'm sorry, Derek. I really didn't want you to have to wear something like this," Reid apologised. "I really didn't. I know it's definitely not something you'd want to wear, but, well… you were way too tired, and JJ didn't pack many types of pajamas in this bag, and this was the first thing that came to hand, and…" Reid trailed off, unsure of what else to say. "I'm sorry." And it sounded to Morgan like Reid wasn't just apologising for dressing him in footie pajamas. He was apologising for the whole situation he was in.

Morgan was just about to say that it was fine, that it wasn't Reid's fault, when he suddenly stopped. He'd shifted his position and sat up in bed, and he'd felt the material he wore under his pajamas. The strange feeling, stretchy material. A sneaking suspicion was growing in Morgan's mind about what the material was. Morgan swallowed, feeling slightly horrified.

"What else am I weawing?" he asked Reid in that small voice of his. Reid looked away from him and remained silent, like he was afraid to answer Morgan. "Weid? What am I weawing?"

"I didn't really have a choice, Derek," Reid said. "JJ told me to put one on you, she had Henry has to wear one and that all children this age have to, and it's just a precaution-"

Morgan basically began ripping apart the buttons on his pajamas, trying to open them to get a look at the underwear he was wearing. He didn't have very much strength in his tiny little fingers, so it was slow work, but he finally got the buttons open. And he could finally see exactly what he was wearing underneath his pajamas.

Morgan had been right in thinking that the material was stretchy, and that it wasn't something he'd ever worn before- or at least since he was a child the first time around. The white piece of clothing was something Morgan had never even _dreamed_ he'd be wearing, not even in his nightmares. He was wearing a diaper. A freaking baby's _diaper_, just in case he _wet himself_. He could barely believe it, but yet he was.

"You put a diaper on me?" Morgan said finally. His voice may have been tiny and childish and had a singsong tone to it, but Reid could still hear the anger that was building there. Morgan was beyond angry. Morgan was absolutely _livid_.

"Derek, I'm sorry, I-"

"No, Weid, no 'sowwy'!" Morgan exclaimed. Morgan's anger was punctuated by his inability to pronounce 'r' sounds, but the intent behind his words was evident. "You put me in a diaper!"

"I had to, Derek, I didn't have a choice!" Reid defended.

"Coulda put me in normal underwear," Morgan huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

Reid bit at his lip and looked away from Morgan, like he did when he really didn't want to say something. "I- I couldn't, Derek. I really, really couldn't." Morgan could hear the apologetic tone in Reid's voice, and while it didn't make him any less angry, it made him curious about what Reid had to say.

When Reid realised Morgan was watching him and waiting for him to speak, he opened his mouth again. "I didn't really have a choice other than putting a diaper on you while you're sleeping, Derek," he began. "JJ told me, because she has to do the same thing with Henry. You're really, really young now, and while you're sleeping you can't control your bladder. I'm not saying that you will, but it is quite likely that you will urinate while you are sleeping."

Morgan just stared at Reid, his tiny mouth opening in horror. He was very possibly going to _pee himself_ while he was sleeping. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. "Still don't wanna wear a diaper," he muttered, refusing to look Reid in the eye.

"It's only while you're sleeping, Derek," Reid said. "You don't have to wear one during the day."

"Nuh uh. Not gonna." Morgan stuck out his bottom lip, looking at Reid in defiance. He was acting more and more like a disobedient child, but he didn't care. Reid was _not_ going to make him wear an overnight diaper.

"Well, I'm sorry, Derek, but you're going to have to," Reid said. "And there is no way you can stop me from putting one on you."

The conversation was stopped from going further by the sound of a knock at the front door. Looking back at Morgan, who still looked very angry, Reid hesitated. He felt that he should try and calm Morgan down; placate him a little bit before he went and answered the door. But when the knock came again, Reid sighed. "I'll be back in a minute," he promised Morgan, before heading for the front door.

Reid had his suspicions about who it was, and sure enough when he opened the door it was to find JJ and Garcia standing there.

"Morning, Spence," said JJ, handing several papers to Reid. "Here are your leave forms."

"Thanks," Reid replied, but his distraction was evident in his voice.

"Something up?" JJ asked.

"Derek's not happy," Reid sighed. "He's… well, angry."

"Angry about what?" Garcia asked.

Reid looked at JJ meaningfully. "It was, well… what I dressed him in to put him to bed. It was bad enough that I had to dress him at all, which he was embarrassed about, but not _too_ embarrassed. And then he realised that I'd dressed him in those pajamas with the feet in them, which embarrassed him even more. I mean, he hated that when he realised. But, it was really- really what he was wearing _under_ his pajamas."

"The overnight diapers that I gave you for him to wear," JJ realised.

"Yeah, he figured out he was wearing one, and he definitely wasn't happy," Reid admitted, looking away from JJ and Garcia. "He was really angry."

"I can imagine," said Garcia. "Poor guy. He goes from being an adult to being a child so young he has to wear a diaper while he's in bed? If it were me, I'd be as angry and embarrassed as Derek is."

"I didn't have a choice," Reid muttered.

"I know you didn't, Reid, don't worry," said Garcia. "He'd definitely be more embarrassed if he had wet himself than he is now for having to wear an overnight diaper."

"Where is Derek, anyway?" JJ asked.

"He's still in bed," Reid replied. "I was, uh, I was trying to calm him down when you guys arrived."

"Should we go get him, then?" Garcia suggested.

"I'll stay out here," said JJ. "He's more likely to calm down if it's just the two of you."

"I'm not entirely sure he's going to listen to me right now," Reid protested. "I'm the one he's so angry at. And he's even more stubborn now than he ever was as an adult. And that was very stubborn."

JJ had to laugh. "Come on, Spence. At least _try_ and calm him down. You're still the one he's most likely to listen to."

"He's worse than Henry," Reid muttered to himself.

"I heard that," said JJ. "Just go in there, and if the two of you together can't calm him down, I don't know what will."

Reid sighed. "We can try, I guess," he said. "Oh, and Garcia? Whatever you may think, _don't_, under any circumstances, tell Derek that he looks cute. Because that's definitely not going to achieve our purpose."

"Gotcha," said Garcia, walking off before Reid to Morgan's bedroom.

When the two of them reached the bedroom, it was to find Morgan sitting up in bed, watching the doorway for any sign of them. When he caught sight of Reid though, Morgan looked away quickly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Can we talk, Derek?" Reid asked gently. Morgan shook his head, steadfastly refusing to make eye contact with Reid. "Come on, Derek, please?"

"Don't wanna talk," Morgan said. "You made me angry."

"I know I made you angry, Derek, and I didn't mean to," said Reid patiently. "But can you try to see things from my point of view?"

Morgan didn't say anything, but he didn't protest either, so Reid took that as his cue to continue. "I know you don't want to wear an overnight diaper, Derek. If I was in your situation, I wouldn't want to wear one either. And if I had the choice, I wouldn't make you wear one. But that's the thing. I _don't_ have the choice whether you wear an overnight diaper in bed or not. You need to wear one, because you're only very little now, and while you're sleeping you won't have control over your bladder. You won't be able to stop yourself if you did need to urinate. I'm sorry, but those are the facts. And besides, Derek, which would you rather: wearing an overnight diaper, or wetting the bed?"

"Wearing an overnight diaper," Morgan muttered.

"There we go," said Reid, approaching the bed and crouching down beside it. "Can you look at me now?" Morgan finally turned to face Reid, looking and feeling a little ashamed. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Reid said. "I definitely don't mean to."

"I know," said Morgan dejectedly. "Sowwy, 'Pencer." Morgan had finally given up on trying to pronounce Reid's last name properly, knowing that while he was a child, it was never going to happen. Of course, he couldn't pronounce 'Spencer' properly either- the 'sp' sound was just too hard- but the end result was less embarrassing.

"That's okay, Derek," said Reid. "Can I have a hug?" Morgan nodded vigorously and wrapping his little arms around Reid as much as he could, hugging him tight. Garcia couldn't help but smile at the sight, and found herself wishing she had her camera on her. Oh well, she thought to herself. She'd definitely have it net time.

After a minute, Reid removed himself from Morgan's grasped and looked at the little boy. "Did you want something to eat? Or did you want to use the bathroom first?"

Morgan thought for a moment. "Bafroom," he finally decided.

"Okay," said Reid. "Garcia can go wait in the living room with JJ, and I'll wait out here for you." Reid didn't bother asking Morgan if he wanted any help; he knew what Morgan's answer would be. He lifted Morgan down off the bed, and the little boy tottered off into the bathroom.

It was several minutes before Morgan reemerged, looking rather sheepish. He regretted yelling at Reid now. Reid was his best friend, no matter what Morgan's age was, and he was just trying to look after him. He was just trying to make this whole situation as easy on Morgan as he possibly could. He hadn't meant to embarrass Morgan in the slightest.

"It's okay, Derek," said Reid. "I'm not angry at you."

"You're not?" Morgan said, surprised.

"No, I'm not. You're in a very difficult situation. It's understandable that things like this would make you angry. I don't blame you. Now do you want to get dressed now?"

Morgan nodded his head. "Can I pick my clothes?" he asked timidly.

Reid smiled. "Of course you can. They're all in this bag over here." He led Morgan over to where the bag sat on the ground and opened it, revealing the clothes within that used to be Henry's. "Pick whatever you want, Derek."

Morgan searched through the clothes for a few minutes, before pulling out what he wanted to wear. Reid wasn't surprised when he saw what Morgan had chosen: plain jeans with a light blue shirt with a picture of a hockey stick on it. Reid remembered how much Morgan loved hockey. And he wasn't surprised, either, when Morgan pulled out a pair of regular underwear. Reid didn't say anything; instead he just quietly left the room so Morgan would get changed. In a situation very much like the day before, Morgan suddenly appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, holding his shirt in his hands. Without a word, and without even looking Morgan in the eye, Reid pulled the shirt down over the little boy's head. He then led Morgan into the living room, where JJ and the Garcia were sitting on the couch, the latter of whom was typing furiously.

JJ looked up when Reid and Morgan entered the room. "Spence. Derek," she said. She both sounded and looked surprised. Anxious. Hopeful.

"What is it?" Reid asked. Morgan, desperate to know what was going on, moved to stand as close to Reid as he possibly could, his eyes on the still furiously typing technical analyst. "What did you find?"

"Garcia's been tracking Morgan's movements the night he… the night this happened to him," JJ explained. "And she-"

"I found something!" Garcia suddenly interrupted, stopping her typing. "I- I know where Morgan was! I found something!"

* * *

_A/N: Gee, I wonder what Garcia's found, huh? Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! Gee I'm such a tease, huh? Please don't kill me... And I go back to uni on Monday, so I don't know how often I'll be able to write, but I'll be sure to update soon! :)_


	8. The Culprit

_A/N: This chapter gets a little bit serious here, guys, as we are finally going to find out how Morgan was turned into a child again. As such, there isn't much of Morgan in this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!_

_Oh, and I'm really sorry for the delay once again. My grandma has been in and out of the hospital in the past couple of months and then had another stroke, so we have all been majorly worried over that and I have been far too stressed to write :( I hope you forgive me!_

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

* * *

_Chapter Eight: The Culprit_

* * *

"You- you have?" Reid gasped, looking from Garcia to an anxious looking Morgan and back to Garcia again.

"Yeah, Derek used his credit card three times the other night," Garcia said. "The first one was to buy petrol for his car in Quantico, and judging by the time I'm going to say it was on his way home from work. The second one was to pay for drinks at Murdoch's, that bar he goes to sometimes after work. And the third one was to pay for a taxi to an address in Annapolis."

"Let me see that." Reid moved over to where Garcia was sitting, leaning over to read the address on the screen. "It's not an address I've ever seen before. And considering I remember everything I've ever seen…" Reid trailed off, and looked over to where Morgan was still standing in the middle of the room. "Derek, come over here." Morgan tottered over to Reid. "Do you recognise this address?"

Morgan stared at the computer screen for a very long moment, his tiny face screwed up in frustration. Eventually he shook his head. "No," he said sadly. "I can't… I can wemember anything after leaving work that day."

"It isn't one of your properties?" Reid asked. Morgan, however, shook his head again.

"Couldn't that be a sign?" said Garcia, looking between the two adult profilers. "I mean, if Derek can't remember this address at all, and it looks like he went there the night all this happened to him, couldn't this be _the place_ someone turned him back into a child?"

"That's a very real possibility," said Reid, pulling out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Garcia asked.

"I'm calling Hotch," said Reid, as he waited for Hotch to answer. "Hey, Hotch, it's Reid."

"_What is it_?" said Hotch. "_Is something wrong_?"

"Garcia's found something." Reid heard nothing but silence on the other end of the phone, indicating that Hotch was waiting intently for Reid to speak. "Garcia was tracking Morgan's credit card, trying to see if she could figure out where he had been the other night. And she found something."

"_She found where Morgan had been_?" Hotch said.

"Yeah. After visiting that bar Murdoch's that Morgan goes to sometimes after work, Morgan paid for a taxi to take him to an address in Annapolis. We asked him, but he can't remember the address at all. After work, he can't remember anything. And it isn't one of the properties he renovates, either."

Hotch was silent, as he thought about what to do next. "_We're going to have to do this secretly_," he finally said. "_We can't call in SWAT, because no one else can know what has happened to Morgan. It has to be just us. Just the team. I'm coming to get you and JJ."_

"Hotch, no! I can't leave Derek!" Reid protested.

"_I need you to come and help us take in whoever did this_," Hotch said. "_We need to do this quickly and quietly, and we need all hands on deck. As soon as we have them, you can go back to Morgan. Garcia can stay with Morgan while you're gone._"

"Do you really need me?" Reid sighed.

"_Yes, Reid, I do_," Hotch replied. "_I'll be there soon_."

Reid hung up the phone, turning back to look at the others. "Hotch is coming to get me and JJ."

"So we're going after the person who did this to Derek?" JJ asked.

Reid nodded. "Since no one can know _why_ we're going after them, it's just the team going. That's why he's coming to get the two of us."

"Do you _want_ to go?" JJ asked.

"I have to," Reid said, firmly. "We need to find out how and why this happened."

"When you get the person who did this to me, will I get turned back to normal again?" Morgan asked, finally speaking up.

Reid sighed. "I hope so, Derek. I hope so."

Not knowing what else to do while waiting for Hotch, Reid moved over to the couch and sank down onto it. Morgan moved closer to Reid and looked at him, and without a word Reid reached down and lifted Morgan onto the couch beside him. JJ and Garcia looked at each other, but they too said nothing. They both knew that Morgan needed the comfort of being close to somebody he trusted right now. The strangeness and hopelessness of Morgan's situation had been brought to the front of his mind again, and he needed Reid to help him from sinking into despair.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before a car could be heard pulling up outside Morgan's house. Morgan reflexively pulled away from Reid, unlatching his arms from where they were grasping the genius's own. Not only was he startled by the sound of the car, he knew that it was Hotch. And while he had realised as soon as Reid had said that Hotch was coming here that Hotch would see him as a child, he still wasn't prepared for Hotch to see him curled up at Reid's side.

The three adults turned to look at each other at the sound of the car door closing. "I'll get the door," Reid decided, rising from the couch and walking towards the front door. He opened it just as Hotch was mounting the steps. "Hi, Hotch," he said.

"Hello, Reid," said Hotch, nodding. "Rossi and Prentiss have gone on ahead to the address to run surveillance while they wait for us."

Reid nodded in reply. "JJ and Garcia are in the living room, with Derek," he said. Reid hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what the best thing to do was, before stepping away from the door to allow Hotch access. "Come in."

Hotch looked at Reid briefly before stepping into the house, Reid closing the door behind his boss. "He's, uh, he's prepared to see you. I think."

"You think?" Hotch repeated.

"I didn't actually ask him," Reid admitted. "But he didn't try to run and hide like the last time. He's accepted the fact that you're going to see him like this."

"All right. Lead the way, then." Reid led Hotch through to the living room, where JJ and Garcia were sitting on chairs, waiting. Hotch's eyes, though, were drawn to the little boy sitting on the couch, watching him anxiously. The little boy that was Derek Morgan.

The whole team- hell, anyone that knew Hotch- knew that the man was very stern and stoic, and very rarely showed any sort of emotion. But now, looking at Hotch as he saw the tiny Morgan for the first time, Reid and the girls could tell that his heart was breaking. He, of all people, knew what Morgan was like. He was Morgan's boss, after all, and when Hotch had had to temporarily step down as Unit Chief, it was Morgan he'd given his job to. But now the man was a child again. Hotch hadn't thought he'd take what had happened to Morgan so much to heart, but that was before he'd actually _seen_ Morgan. Now he knew that would do absolutely _everything_ in his power to get Morgan back to being an adult again. Back to the man he was meant to be.

Hotch had paused in the doorway to the living room, but now he crossed the room and stopped in front of Morgan, crouching down so he was on the little boy's eye level. "Hello, Morgan," Hotch said carefully.

"Hi, Hotch," said Morgan in that child's voice he now had. He waved a tiny hand at his boss.

"How are you doing?" Hotch asked. He was choosing his words carefully, trying not to say anything that would antagonise Morgan or patronise him too much.

"Okay," Morgan replied. "Better. Want this to end."

"I don't blame you," said Hotch. "I can imagine that anyone in your situation would feel that way. But don't worry. The team and I are going to go and get the person who did this to you, and then we're going to get them to turn you back to normal. Okay?"

Morgan nodded, not looking Hotch directly in the eye. He just couldn't do it- he didn't want to see the pity he knew would be reflected in the man's eyes. Seeing people feeling sorry for him made Morgan feel even worse than he already did.

"I'm going to need to take JJ and Reid with me," said Hotch. Even though Reid had already told Morgan this, Morgan suddenly looked up at Hotch, anxiety and upset clear in his eyes. "It won't be for very long, and Reid will be right back here to stay with you. And Garcia's going to stay with you while we're gone."

Morgan nodded, obviously not very happy about it but resigned to the fact that Reid had to go. He wanted to be an adult again, and this was the only way that could happen.

"I will be back as soon as I can," Reid assured him, crouching down in front of him. "I promise."

Morgan nodded resolutely, but he could feel the tears pricking at his eyes. He tried as hard as he could to fight them back; Reid and JJ may have already seen him cry, but he did not want Garcia to see him cry- and he _definitely_ did not want Hotch to see him cry. That was _never_ going to happen. Ever.

"Don't cry, Derek," Reid whispered, so quietly that nobody else could hear him. "I'll be back before you know it." Straightening up again, Reid turned to Hotch and said, "Let's go." JJ got to her feet as well, and she flashed one last glance back at Morgan before the three agents left the house.

The entire drive to the suspect's house was quiet. They couldn't have the sirens on for two reasons: one, they weren't on official FBI business so they technically weren't allowed, and two, they didn't want to alert the suspect to the fact that they were coming.

Reid, too, didn't make a noise the entire way. He sat alone in the back seat, staring out the window at the houses and trees they were passing by, his mind firmly fixed on Morgan. He knew Morgan was working very hard to take his mind off of his distress and anxiety, but that didn't mean he wasn't feeling it. There may have been moments that Morgan was having fun and enjoying himself, but that anguish he felt about the whole situation was still rooted firmly at the back of the former adult's mind. Reid was determined to make those horrible feelings go away.

The drive seemed to go forever (for Reid at least) but at last they pulled into a street and stopped behind another black sedan. Hotch flashed his lights at the car, and after a few moments Rossi and Prentiss emerged from the car and headed over to them. The pair opened the car door and slid into the back seat beside Reid so they could talk.

"Have you seen anything?" Hotch asked them.

"Nobody's gone in or out of the house since we've been watching," Rossi said. "In fact, there's been barely any movement in the street all day."

"There is definitely movement in the house, though," Prentiss added. "Male, appears to be late thirties to early forties. About Morgan's age- well, the age he used to be, anyway."

"And will be again," Reid spoke up suddenly and forcefully. The others all looked at him, startled. "We _have _to get him back to his true self. This whole thing is destroying him. We can't let that happen."

"We _will_ get Morgan back to normal, Reid," said Prentiss, who was sitting next to Reid. "I promise." Unseen by the rest of the team, Prentiss reached out and took Reid's hand in her own, squeezing it gently. He looked over at her, startled, and Prentiss gave him a reassuring smile. Reid smiled inwardly at her touch. He couldn't smile on the outside; not with Morgan in the situation he was in.

Hotch, not seeing this silent exchange between Prentiss and Reid, turned to face the back seat of the car mere moments after Prentiss let go of Reid's hand. "Come on, then," he said. "Let's go."

The five agents got out of the car as quickly and as quietly as they could. They hid behind it for a moment, before Hotch beckoned for them all to move. They ran out from behind the car, their guns drawn but hidden behind their bodies. Prentiss and Rossi headed for the front door, and Reid, Hotch and JJ headed for the back door. They stood there, hidden, waiting for Rossi and Prentiss's signal.

Finally, the sound came: a knock on the front door. "FBI!" Rossi called out. "Open your door, sir! We know you're in there!"

After several long minutes, there was still no sound of their suspect coming out the front door. Suddenly, though, they could hear movement inside the house- but no sign of the suspect _exiting_. Rossi decided to call out again.

"This is your last warning! If you don't announce yourself or come out of the house now, we _will_ come in!"

They thought that their suspect wouldn't reply, but then a voice called out from within the house. "Did you ever think that I might _want_ you to come in, Agent Rossi?"

_That_ was definitely unexpected. Not only did their suspect basically invite them in, like he was expecting them, but _he knew Rossi's name_. Granted, many people knew who Rossi was- he was a very well known author, after all- but he knew Rossi just by his voice. So the team entered the house, guns still drawn, to find the man they were looking for sitting on his couch, smiling broadly.

"It's about time," the man said to the team. "I was beginning to think that you'd never find me."

"Are you Darius West?" Hotch asked, in his usual stern voice.

"Not even a hello?" said the man. "Agent Hotchner, I'm hurt. Although, I'm not surprised that _you_ didn't say hello. You have always been the strict workaholic, after all."

"_Are you Darius West_?" Hotch repeated, anger seeping into his voice.

"Geez, so rude!" the man exclaimed. "Yes, I am Darius West. No need to introduce the rest of your team. I know who you all are. Agent Prentiss, Agent Jareau, and of course, Doctor Reid. How's Agent Morgan doing?"

"You tell us," said Rossi. "We know it was you who did this to him."

"Did what to him?" said Darius innocently. He had a smirk on his face as he spoke, and the team knew that he knew exactly what they were talking about. "I'm not going to be able to help you if you don't tell me what you're talking about."

Reid, unable to take it anymore, spoke up. "You're the one that turned him into a child," he said, shocking the others. They hadn't expected him to speak at all, given how abnormally emotional he was about the situation.

Darius, however, wasn't so surprised. "Ah, Doctor Reid. I was wondering when you'd speak up. Yes, I am the one that turned Agent Derek Morgan back into a child. Tell me, are you the one that's looking after him? You are, aren't you? With Agent Jareau's help, I'd expect. Although I'm surprised that you haven't asked Agent Prentiss to help you. You do have-"

"Shut up," said Reid suddenly. "Just _shut up_. This is not a joke. Derek doesn't deserve this."

"Now, that's where you're wrong," said Darius, his expression suddenly darkening. "If anyone deserves this, it's Derek Morgan."

"Why, though?" said Prentiss, even as her mind was also focused on why Reid had cut Darius off when he'd mentioned her. "_Why_ does Morgan deserve this?"

"Yeah… not going to tell you that," said Darius. "Sorry."

"Well can you at least change him back? Or tell us how to do it?" Prentiss asked.

"Nope, not going to do that either," said Darius, to the team's shock and horror.

Reid, especially, was dismayed by what Darius had said. "What?" he gasped. "But- but- no! You have to!"

"No, Doctor Reid, I don't _have_ to," Darius informed him. "There are some things I will tell you, though. One, tell little Derek that he doesn't have to worry about losing his true self by acting like a child, because that's not going to happen. In fact, acting like the child that he is will make things much, much easier for him."

"Why will it make things easier for him?" Reid asked, already dreading the answer.

"Well, because if you lot don't figure out how to turn Derek back to normal, he's going to become more and more of a child, and slowly forget that he is supposed to be an adult, until he forgets completely. Then he will be stuck like this forever, and he'll have to grow up all over again."

"_What_?" JJ gasped, but the team were all thinking the same thing. Having their greatest fears confirmed was almost too much for them all to handle.

Prentiss looked over at Reid, and saw the shock and devastation written all over his face. His hands were shaking, and she could tell just by looking at him that he was coming very close to hitting Darius, which in itself was unusual for him. She sent a silent warning to him not to do that. Who knew what Darius would do to him if he did?

"Why… why would embracing the child that he now is make this easier for Morgan?" Prentiss asked.

"Fighting the transformation too much will actually make the memory loss go faster," Darius explained. "Don't ask me why that is, I don't know. I kinda wish that wasn't the case. It's fun to watch them squirm."

The rage was building in Reid, and he had to fight very hard to hold it back. He had never met anyone less helpful. And the man was _enjoying_ this- he was enjoying the team's responses to what he was saying.

"So you're not going to help us turn him back?" said JJ.

"No, no I am not," said Darius. "Because you see, I don't _want_ him to turn back. And why would I help you if I don't want it to happen?"

"You know, we could just have you locked up," Hotch pointed out.

Darius laughed. "No, you couldn't. I haven't done anything illegal, and I'm pretty sure that you don't want anyone to find out about what's happened to Agent Morgan."

"We _will_ figure out how to change him back," Prentiss promised.

"Yeah, good luck with that," said Darius, clearly not thinking that that would happen. "Now if you people don't mind, I have things to do." And with that, Darius vanished. He simply disappeared, into thin air.

"Well… what do we do now?" JJ asked quietly, almost scared to break the silence that had overtaken the group.

* * *

_A/N: Just in case you're wondering, we are going to find out more about Darius's backstory and why he did this to Morgan later. And whether the team will figure out how to turn Morgan back in time... well, that remains to be seen._

_I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Any and all reviews will be very much welcomed :) Thanks again for reading!_


	9. Bath Time

_A/N: It's finally back, guys! I had THE WORST writer's block ever- I wrote about the first two paragraphs, then was absolutely stuck on what to write next! But now I am back, and at least I already know exactly what to write in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one!_

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_Chapter Nine: Bath Time_

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After standing there for a while, the team finally realised that there was no point remaining in Darius West's house anymore, so they all filed slowly out the front door and headed for the SUVs. The team all knew that Reid would be headed back to Morgan; he was on leave, after all, and they knew that there was no way Reid would leave Morgan anyway. JJ had debated whether to go back to Morgan as well, but in the end she decided against it- she needed to get back to work and she felt that Reid needed some time alone with Morgan.

While one SUV headed straight back to the BAU, the other one- containing Prentiss and Reid- headed back to Morgan's house. When they pulled up out the front, however, Reid remained in his seat with his hand rested on the door handle. He was dreading getting out of the car, and having to go tell Garcia and Morgan that Darius would not be changing him back.

"Hey, Reid," said Prentiss softly, sensing Reid's fear and turning around from her position in the driver's seat to face him. "We will figure this out, okay?" she whispered. "We will get Morgan back to his true adult self." She reached out with her hand, taking one of Reid's and squeezing it. "We will. I promise you that."

Reid sighed. "Yeah, I know," he replied, sounding like he believed the exact opposite. "I gotta go." But he paused for a moment, his hand lingering in Prentiss's. The two of them were motionless, just staring at their joined hands, before Reid finally turned and climbed out of the SUV.

Garcia's head snapped up as soon as Reid walked into the room. Her expression was hopeful, but that hope faded away as soon as she saw Reid's face. "You didn't find him?" she said sadly.

"No, we found him," Reid sighed. He looked around the room for a moment, before seeing Morgan curled up on the small seat beside the couch, sound asleep.

"Poor little guy," Garcia whispered. "He wanted to wait for you to come back, but he just couldn't wait any longer. Hold on, if you managed to find the guy, why isn't Morgan…"

"He refused to turned Derek back, and then he just… he just vanished into thin air."

"So he's not turning Derek back?"

Reid shook his head. "And if we don't figure out how to do it ourselves, then Derek's going to be stuck like this forever."

"He… he is?" Garcia gasped, looking over at the sleeping child. "But- but Reid! We can't let that happen! We can't!"

"You think I don't know that, Garcia!" Reid snapped. Garcia jumped back, started. "Sorry," Reid said, looking over at Morgan to make sure he didn't wake up. "I'm… I don't think I'm handling this very well."

"I'm not surprised," said Garcia. "None of us are. But given how Morgan is like a brother to you… I can see how it would be even worse on you."

"Yeah, it's hard," Reid agreed, sinking onto the end of the couch closest to wear Morgan was sleeping. "It can't be easy on you either, Garcia. I mean, you and Morgan mean so much to each other."

"Yeah, we do. But for the person who you see as a big brother, who you go for advice to be turned in to a toddler… that's tough on anyone."

"I don't think anybody else who has a friend that they see as a brother has been in this situation before, Garcia," Reid pointed out.

Garcia let out a humourless laugh. "Yes, I suppose that's true," she said. Suddenly her phone beeped, and she reached over to check it. "That's Hotch," she sighed. "He wants me to get back to the office and do some work there, so it doesn't appear suspicious or anything. You gonna be right with Derek on your own?"

Reid nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he said. "Go, get back to work before Derek wakes up. He won't want to say goodbye to you."

"Yeah, you're right." Garcia rose to her feet, bending over Morgan's tiny, sleeping form and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "See you later, little man," she whispered, waving to Reid before leaving the house.

Reid was motionless for a long time after Garcia had left, just staring at Morgan as he slept. How was he going to tell Morgan that they weren't going to be able to turn him back into an adult yet? More importantly, how was he going to tell Morgan that they might never be able to turn him back at all?

It was a long time before Morgan finally stirred, letting out a loud yawn and sitting up in his chair. "'Pencer?" Morgan said sleepily, wincing when the child's voice escaped from his mouth. He looked down at his still tiny body. "I'm still a kid?"

Reid nodded. "I'm afraid so, Derek," he said sadly. "We found the guy who did this to you, but he refused to turn you back."

"So I'm stuck like this?" Morgan cried, his bottom lip beginning to tremble.

"We're trying to turn you back still, Derek," Reid insisted, but it was too late. The tears had already begun to fall. And then Morgan was wailing, the loud cries escaping from his mouth as he sobbed. Reid didn't even have to think; he leapt off the couch and pulled Morgan into his arms, holding the little boy as he cried. He rubbed the child's back soothingly, whispering nonsense into his ear to try and calm him down. "That's it, Derek, let it all out. It's okay…"

Finally Morgan was out of tears and he sniffed, rubbing at the remnants of the tears with his tiny fist. "Here, let me," said Reid gently, wiping the excess moisture away with a finger. "Do you want me to put you down now?"

To Reid's great surprise, Morgan shook his head. He didn't want Reid to put him down. Being in Reid's arms comforted him; it made him feel safe and content. He didn't want Reid to ever put him down. After a moment though, Morgan spoke. "Can we pway catch?" he asked timidly.

"I don't see why not," said Reid, carrying Morgan into the backyard, on the way pausing to pick a soft and squishy ball out of the bag of toys. He wanted something soft so Morgan wouldn't hurt himself, and that wouldn't be too hard for his little hands to catch. When they reached the grassy area of Morgan's yard, Reid set the Morgan down and walked a few feet away from him.

He held the ball in his hands, ready to toss it to Morgan. "You ready?" he asked the child.

Morgan nodded fervently, his arms outstretched. "Thwow it to me!" he ordered Reid.

Reid laughed. "Okay, Derek, here we go!" he said, throwing the ball lightly to the little boy. Morgan caught the ball and pulled it down to his chest, laughing excitedly.

"I did it!" he cried.

"You sure did, kiddo," said Reid. "You sure did. How about tossing it back to me now, yeah?"

Morgan nodded, throwing the ball towards Reid with all his might. Reid caught the ball in two hands, and Morgan clapped happily. "Nice to see you still have your sporting ability, Derek," said Reid, readying himself to toss the ball to Morgan again.

The two of them played catch for a good part of the day. While Reid himself got bored after awhile, Morgan stayed interested, happily throwing the ball to Reid and then catching it again. Reid knew that the adult Morgan would've gotten bored with this long ago, but the simplicity of the child's mind he had now was keeping him entertained.

Finally, though, Morgan stopped throwing the ball and frowned. "My tummy's making noises," he informed Reid.

"Guess it's time for dinner then, Derek," said Reid. "C'mon."

Dinner was fairly uneventful for the two of them that night. Morgan let out a small sigh when set the fairly plain meal in front of him, and Reid knew it was because Morgan desperately wished he could eat the food he used to eat but now couldn't

When Morgan had finished eating Reid cleared his throat, feeling unsure about what he was about to say. He had no idea how Morgan would take this. "Derek, you uh- you need to have a bath," he said finally. "You haven't really washed since you were turned into a child, and you're getting dirty and you can't really have a shower, now, so…" Reid trailed off, looking apprehensively at Morgan as he did so.

"You're going to give me a bath?" Morgan said. When Reid nodded, Morgan cried, "No! No, Pencer, I am not letting you see me with no clothes on!"

"Derek, you have to have a bath at some point," Reid pointed out. "You don't want to get smelly, do you?"

Morgan shook his head. "No, but I don't want you to see me naked!"

"Derek, I already had to dress you for bed when you had already fallen asleep, remember? And I've bathed Henry plenty of times before," said Reid. "And I promise you can wash yourself and undress yourself as much as you can, okay? I just have to lift you into the bathtub and lift you out again, and supervise you while you're I there, okay?"

Morgan didn't answer; instead he just turned away from Reid, refusing to make eye contact. He knew that Reid was right- he hadn't bathed since he'd been turned into a child again, and it wouldn't be safe for him to have a bath without Reid in the room. He was very, very small now, and if he was left to have a bath unsupervised, there was every chance that he may accidentally drown. But Reid was going to see him naked! His _best friend_ was going to see him _naked_! He was going to see everything! Granted, there wasn't even that much to see anymore, but still… this was beyond embarrassing. No man wanted their best friend to have to see them naked. Sadly, Morgan realised, there was no way around this.

"Derek?" Reid said, making Morgan realise that he had been silent for a very long time.

"Fine," Morgan muttered. "But you're not allowed to undress me. And I wash myself."

"I promise," said Reid sincerely. "You coming, then?"

Morgan nodded, and Reid lifted the little boy into his arms. He carried Morgan into his bedroom, placing him on the floor in front of the train set. "You stay here while I run the bath, okay?" Reid left the room, and Morgan could hear the bath running from where he sat playing with the trains. He'd loved trains when he was a child the first time around, and it seemed that that hadn't changed.

Finally, the sound of running water stopped and Reid re-entered the room. "Bath's ready, Derek," he said. "Here, let me take your shirt off for you." Morgan lifted his arms up instantly and wordlessly, and Reid lifted the shirt over the child's head. "You go into the bathroom, and call me when you're undressed, alright?"

Morgan nodded and tottered into the bathroom, Reid closing the door behind him so he couldn't see anything. Morgan got undressed slowly; the task was rather difficult with his tiny hands and stubby fingers, and he wanted to prolong the time before Reid had to help him into the bathtub as long as he possibly could.

Eventually Morgan was fully undressed, naked and shivering slightly. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Morgan called out to Reid waiting in the bedroom. "Pencer! I'm weady now!"

The door to the bathroom opened, and Reid appeared, looking cautious. Morgan's hand automatically went to cover himself up, even though there wasn't that much to cover up in the first place. Reid, very tactfully, wasn't even looking- he just strode straight over to Morgan and picked him up, lowering him gently into the tub.

Morgan nearly jumped when he hit the water- it was a little bit hotter than he had expected. This was also the first time he had noticed that the tub was filled with bubble bath. It was very childish, but then again, Morgan was a small child now. The bubble bath tickled him, but he liked it.

There were toys in there for him as well, Morgan realised. A small, yellow rubber tuck, a plastic ship, and a plastic shark. He wanted to feel upset about the fact that he had to have toys in the bath with him to keep him entertained, but, well… he _didn't_. He really wanted to play with them.

"I've just gotta wash your hair first, Derek," Reid informed him. "This probably isn't something you've had to worry about for awhile, huh?" Reid wasn't wrong there. When Morgan was an adult he'd had a fully shaved head, but now he had enough hair that it needed to be washed. At least he didn't have to shave anymore. His face was as smooth as anything. "You might want to close your eyes."

Morgan nodded and closed his eyes tightly. He felt Reid pour water over his head, before massaging the shampoo into his hair and rinsing it out, followed by the conditioner. Finally Reid said, "You can open your eyes now, Derek."

"Can I pway wif the toys now?" Morgan asked.

Reid laughed. "Of course you can."

Morgan handed one of the toys to Reid. "You can be the ducky," he said. "You have to twy and get away fwom the shark." Morgan's shark chased Reid's duck around the bath, Morgan squealing with delight whenever he managed to catch the duck, not even realising that Reid was slowing the duck down on purpose to let Morgan catch him.

Eventually though the bath water started getting cold, and Morgan began to shiver. "Time to get you out of the water," Reid declared, lifting Morgan out of the tub and wrapping a soft towel around him. He used the towel to dry Morgan's small body, before handing Morgan his footie pyjamas and a nighttime diaper. "I know you don't like wearing these, but I promise it's necessary. I'll wait out in your bedroom, and you come out when you're dressed, okay?"

Reid left the room and Morgan was left alone, holding the towel around his naked body. He stood there for a long moment, shivering, dreading having to put on the diaper. Reid was right- he _hated_ having to wear that thing. It was so, so demeaning- he should be a fully-grown man, but now he was a very young boy who had to wear a diaper so he didn't wet the bed!

Morgan shivered again, and then he had no choice but to put the diaper on and get dressed so he didn't catch a cold. He pulled it on, the fabric once again feeling strange against his skin. He then pulled on the footie pyjamas, and it wasn't until he'd pulled the sleeves over his arms that he realised he wouldn't be able to do the buttons up. His fingers were just too small. So he headed out into the bedroom, where Reid was waiting.

"Can you button it up for me, pwease?" Morgan asked. Nodding, Reid moved over to Morgan and began buttoning up the little boy's pyjamas, before putting him into bed and tucking him in.

"You go to sleep, now," Reid whispered. "You've had a long day."

"Can… can you stay wif me til I fall asleep, pwease?" Morgan asked.

"Of course I can," Reid said, settling into the chair beside Morgan's bed. Morgan closed his eyes, and felt Reid stroking his hair as he drifted off. A small smile crossed his face as he felt the gentle hand on his head, and finally he fell asleep. Reid pressed a kiss to Morgan's forehead, before heading out into the hallway and pulling out his phone.

"_Hello_?" Prentiss's voice answered.

"Hey, Prentiss, it's me," said Reid softly.

"_Hey, Reid, how is he?_" Prentiss asked.

"He was really upset when he found out that we weren't able to get him turned back, but he's okay now. I just put him to bed."

"_That's good_," said Prentiss. "_Did you need anything_?"

"No, I- I don't know," Reid admitted. "I just… I really needed to hear your voice."

Prentiss was silent for a while before she answered. "_I miss having you around the office, Reid. It's not the same without you here. But this whole thing… it must be so hard on you_."

Reid sighed. "It's definitely not easy," he agreed. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to look after a little kid, even one that used to be an adult. And what… what if he gets stuck like this forever? What do we do then?"

"_Let's not think about that, Reid_," Prentiss told him. "_We will figure this out, and get back the Morgan we all know._" Prentiss took a deep breath before continuing. "_The rest of us were talking, and, well, you need to take Morgan out. He can't stay in the house forever. He is a very young child, after all- he's going to get bored and go stir crazy_."

"I know," said Reid, "but Morgan's not going to like that. He's not going to want anyone else to see him as a child, even though nobody's going to know who he is. And I don't know if I can look after him in public by myself. I won't know what to do."

"_I've taken Henry out by myself plenty of times, how about I take the day off tomorrow and come with you_?" Prentiss suggested. "_I know I haven't seen Morgan since he was turned into a child, but I think he knows I'm going to have to see him at some point._"

"Alright," said Reid. "I think… I think that will be best. See you tomorrow, then."

"_See you, Reid_."

Reid hung up the phone and stared at it for a long moment, before heading into the spare bedroom to read a book before it was time for him to head to bed.

* * *

_A/N: I wonder what Reid and Prentiss will do on their day out with Morgan? Guess you'll just have to wait and see! :P_

_Also, I've put a poll up on my profile, asking if you guys would like this story to end with either Morgan getting turned back into an adult, or getting stuck as a child forever and forgetting that he was ever an adult. I have plans for both possible endings, but I have no idea which one I want to use. Your input would be very much appreciated!_

_Any and all reviews will be very welcome! :)_


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